Key to Her Heart III
by The Blue Time Ranger
Summary: The Dark Mother Meter is approaching the worlds, and she intends to forge a legendary weapon known as the χ-blade in order to assert her dominance over all the worlds. In order to prevent Meter from fulfilling her ambitions, Nick, Maylin, and Haruka must take up their keyblades one last time, but can Meter actually be stopped before she plunges all worlds into darkness?
1. Third Time's the Charm

"Did you ever hear the story of the χ-blade?"

Amber looked up at Meter, wondering where that particular thought had come from. "What's a χ-blade?" Amber asked.

Meter, Queen of Spring, chuckled at that. Amber, Queen of Autumn, had never been much for reading books and fables, preferring to experience events out there in the worlds.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Just make sure you listen this time," Meter laughed.

"Says the one with the shortest attention span of all of us," Freya, Queen of Winter, stated matter-of-factly, causing Meter to glare at her in an attempt to look annoyed, but found she couldn't stay angry at her fellow Queens. They were the best of friends on and off the battlefield, after all.

"The old legends say that, in ancient times, the people believed that light was a precious gift, hailing from an unseen land known only as Kingdom Hearts," Meter explained. "But Kingdom Hearts was protected by its counterpart, the χ-blade. Many people vied for that precious light, and so let darkness into their hearts."

"Oh, that's so sad," Rose, Queen of Summer, sighed. "Why would they want to take the light? Aren't they supposed to be balanced?"

"Some people deluded themselves into thinking that they held ownership of the light," Meter continued, patting Rose on the head in what she hoped was a comforting way. Despite being the youngest of the four Elemental Queens, Rose still hated being treated like a child. Thankfully, Rose smiled brightly to put Meter at ease.

"Warriors forged special weapons called keyblades, in the image of the original χ-blade, and began to fight," Meter continued. "Some fought to defend the light from the darkness, and others fought to hoard the light for themselves. Thus began what is known as the 'Keyblade War'. No one knows how long it lasted or how it ended, but the violent clash eventually shattered the χ-blade into twenty pieces. Seven of light, thirteen of darkness."

"And... what happened to Kingdom Hearts?" Freya wondered.

"Swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again," Meter answered.

"Hold on, I'm a little confused," Rose wondered. "If it's called the χ-blade, isn't it a keyblade like ours?"

"The χ-blade is different from the keyblades we wield," Meter answered. "χ is a most ancient letter. Some would pronounce it 'kye', but the meaning is the same. A letter that spells endings..."

"Wait, wait, if that world was destroyed, how do all these worlds exist now?" Amber asked, curious as to where Meter's tale was going.

"They say that the hearts of children, pure and untainted by darkness, were able to rebuild what was left of the world after the Keyblade War," Meter explained. "This light took the form of the worlds we know now, and possibly countless others that have yet to be discovered."

"Wow, Meter, you seem really curious about this Keyblade War," Rose stated. "Any particular reason?"

"Well, we know so little about it," Meter proclaimed. "Only that it was just the beginning of a grander tale to be told. After all, amidst the darkness of the war, a precious light was found. It's a curious tale, and, at least to me, one worth exploring. They say that ruin brings about creation. When the darkness falls, will we be considered worthy of the precious light that the legends tells of so fondly?"

"Meter?" Amber stated. "You're going all dramatic on us again."

"Oh, oh, sorry," Meter stuttered. "I tend to do that when I'm telling stories."

"Meter, don't take this the wrong way, but..." Freya stated, looking slightly nervous. "I have heard rumors that you are trying to learn to harness the power of darkness."

"I think I know who started spreading those rumors," Meter immediately answered. "She's always getting on my case about it, and for what? Light and darkness are supposed to be in balance, after all. That's what the Oracle keeps drilling into our heads. I just want to prove that darkness can be controlled so I can shut up all of the naysayers who think darkness can be destroyed."

"But it can't be destroyed," Rose responded. "Light and darkness are part of all of us, of _everything_."

"Some of the more... shall we say, _deluded_ members of the council would like to say otherwise," Freya stated. "I just worry about you, Meter."

"You don't have to, Freya," Meter proclaimed. "I will never let the darkness take control of me. _I_ will take control of _it_, and show the people that all we need is a little balance."

Amber flashed a thumbs up, Freya nodded sagely, and Rose just nodded happily.

_They believe in me,_ Meter thought, glancing at her hands. Her left hand was enveloped in a hazy glow of darkness, and her right hand pulsed with a soft sphere of light. _I will __**not**__ let them down._

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**Author's Notes:** Well, well, a third entry already? Yep, it's time to conclude this trilogy of adventures, and let me just say that I'm excited for this one. Kingdom Hearts III is INCREDIBLE, and I'm so glad the wait was worth it (though, there _are_ some things about it that irk me, namely the boat race with Luxord (WHO DESIGNED THAT SH!T), that goddamned ghost fleet battle at the end of the Caribbean, and the fact that the supposed _superboss_ is a #$ JOKE). Now, this story's gonna be a bit different from its two preceding journeys. While the first two Key to Her Hearts followed the basic plot structure of the respective Kingdom Hearts game it was adapting (just with different worlds, characters, and what have you), this story's... well, _story_ is most likely going to deviate the most from Kingdom Hearts III's story. Most of the major gameplay elements will be showing up here, just that the story's going to take a different approach.

**Theme Song Notes:** Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as not to get my stories torpedoed, the opening theme is "Adamas" by LiSA (the first opening theme to Sword Art Online: Alicization) and the ending theme is "Datte Atashi no Hero" by LiSA (the second ending theme to season two of My Hero Academia).

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 1: Third Time's the Charm

I slowly opened my eyes, completely unsure of where I was.

At the same instant I realized I was falling through the empty air, I looked down and saw a large, circular platform approaching fast, resembling a stained-glass window and imprinted with myself, my three fellow keyblade wielders, and all five of the Guardians of the Veil.

All right, now I'm definitely confused.

This is supposed to be my Dive Into the Heart, right?

So why am I here again?

I thought I'd already gotten my keyblade.

And, just to add to the weirdness scale, when I finally landed on the platform, I noticed that I resembled my fourteen-year-old self, back when I'd first gone through my Dive.

...holy crap, has it really been three years already?

Shaking off that feeling for the moment, I took a few steps forward, wondering if I should call out for whoever had brought me back to my Dive.

_There are many hearts to save._

Speak of the devil...

I looked back down and saw that a large mirror had appeared in front of me, its outer rim decorated by what appeared to be keyblades integrated into its design.

And there, reflected in the mirror, was my fifteen-year-old self, wearing the outfit I'd been wearing for most of my second adventure, the one granted to me by the Oracle.

_Approach._

You don't have to be rude about it, mister voice...

Realizing there's really nothing else to do, I decided to obey the voice and approach the mirror.

Instinctively, I reached out to touch the glass of the mirror, and it suddenly started shining before pulling me through it.

When I stumbled out of the mirror, I now resembled my fifteen-year-old self, with my fourteen-year-old self now my reflection in the mirror.

And that mirror quickly vanished in a shower of sparkles.

Before I could question what the heck was going on, hundreds of mirrors appeared and began to slowly float around the outer edge of the platform, each mirror presenting what appeared to be a still image of a moment from one of my previous adventures. The mirrors all formed a rotating tower around the platform that seemed to ascend forever.

Three of the mirrors floated down to my position, each showing a specific moment.

The center mirror showed me defending myself from Kusumi-no-Okami attacking me with the Dark Keyblade during my first trip to the Blue Sky Kingdom.

The left mirror showed me and Elyon, the Queen of Meridian, raising our respective keyblades to seal the Door to Darkness.

The right mirror showed me the moment I'd met and befriended Maylin and Haruka in Traverse Town to begin our first journey.

The voice resounded in my mind, asking me a question.

_What do you desire?_

Noting to myself that this seemed very familiar to the choices I'd made in my first Dive, I walked closer to examine the mirrors and see if they'd give me any information about what, exactly, I could choose.

First, I examined the right mirror.

_Balance... a body and mind of equal merit and equal potential._

Then, I checked out the left mirror.

_Wisdom... a sharp mind that will grant you mastery of wondrous power._

Finally, I looked at the center mirror.

_Vitality... a rugged body that will endure even the toughest of challenges._

After taking about a minute to think it over (I'm inside what's essentially a dream, so I'm really in no hurry here), I decided that I was going to choose balance.

Hey, I know for sure that my friends and I have been trying to drill it into everybody's heads that balance is good for the world, as light and darkness can't exist without each other. It's just the natural order of things, right?

With my mind made up, I raise my right hand to summon my keyblade, the Kingdom Key, into my grip and aim it for the balance mirror.

Light shined from the keyblade's teeth and fired a beam of light into it, causing the mirror to start glowing and then disappear in a shower of sparkles, the other two mirrors following.

A few seconds later, three more mirrors floated down from the tower of mirrors and placed themselves in front of me.

The center mirror showed me my clash with the other-dimensional version of my future daughter Lily in the Blue Sky Kingdom, me just barely avoiding an overhead slash before clashing blades with her.

The left mirror showed Maylin running over to me and casting a giant Reflect spell that created a barrier to protect me.

The right mirror showed me my friend Strelitzia, a keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales, raising her keyblade to conjure a powerful magic spell.

Again, the voice spoke to me.

_What power do you seek?_

Now _this_ choice I remember.

First, I looked at the center mirror.

_The power of the warrior. A sword whose strength is courage, the will to stand against anything._

Just like the first Dive. Next, I examined the right mirror.

_The power of the mystic. A staff whose strength is spirit, power the eye cannot see._

Checks out. Finally, I checked out the left mirror.

_The power of the guardian. A shield whose strength is kindness, the desire to help one's friends._

Yup, everything's in order here.

I figured I'd make the same choice I made on my first Dive and pick the guardian. I aimed my keyblade for the guardian mirror and fired a beam into it, causing that mirror to dissipate, followed by the other two.

The voice spoke one last time.

_Is this who you are?_

I simply nodded. Who else could I be but me, right?

In that instant, every last mirror around me vanished completely, and...

...wait, why are my feet wet?

I looked down to see that the platform was completely covered by water. After trying to make sense of my situation, I noticed a light shining just up ahead.

Also, um, there was also the matter of the _giant tidal wave that was flying right towards me!_

Before I could react to maybe cast a spell or something, the tidal wave crashed down on me, submerging me in its depths.

Thankfully, I could actually swim in this dream-like place, a far cry from my "swimming ability" in the real world.

I swear, Heatherfield's swim coach really wangs chung at teaching people how to swim... maybe I'll ask Irma if she can teach me. I mean, she's the Guardian of _Water_, for crying out loud, and she's _dominating _the swim meets at Sheffield!

...okay, getting off topic now.

I swam my way upwards through the tides until I leapt out into what seemed to be an endless expanse of sea and sky, reaching out into infinity.

There seemed to be no visible ground to stand on, only more water, but I was standing on it just fine.

Before I could decide whether or not to question the utter absurdity of that, small pools of darkness appeared just ahead of me and spawned a few Shadows, the most basic form of Heartless there was.

All right, finally I get to bust some heads.

I summoned the Kingdom Key and charged into battle.

The Shadows attempted to hit me with flying scratch attacks, but I easily dispatched them one by one.

My fighting style had changed a bit since my last adventure. Now that I'm a Keyblade Master, I decided to change the way I swing my weapon when I do combos. Hey, gotta make sure your style doesn't get stale, right?

I lunged towards the first Shadow I saw, hitting it first with a diagonal overhead swing, then a left hook slash, then an upward swipe, and finishing off with a spinning sidewinder that obliterated the Shadow.

Another Shadow leaped through the air towards me, but I leaped to meet it, then struck with an upward swipe, a spinning hook, a diagonal downward strike, and finishing with a spiral somersault attack very reminiscent of my Hurricane Period finisher.

After only a few seconds, the Shadows were all gone.

But as I was about to let my keyblade disappear, the ground around me began to shake and rumble. I turned around to face whatever was causing it, and found myself face to face with a very familiar foe.

It was a Darkside, a massive pureblood Heartless that had attacked me multiple times over the course of my journey.

Only this one looked quite different, its body semi-transparent and glowing.

As the Darkside brought its fist back to slam it into the ground, creating a shockwave that I easily jumped over, I figured I'd just beat this thing's face in and ask questions later.

I proceeded to attack the Darkside's hand while it was stuck in the ground until it was able to free itself.

Darkside clutched its palm, gathering energy into its hands before firing it in the form of multiple dark spheres, all of them aimed straight for me. Being much more experienced this time around, I simply swung my keyblade to deflect each sphere back at Darkside's head, doing big damage in a hurry.

Then, the Darkside threw another shockwave punch and got its hand stuck in the ground, giving me ample time to land one last combo on its head before driving my keyblade into its face and causing it to explode in a wave of darkness.

All I could think of as my vision began to shut down was that this is becoming a pattern...

"Hey, Nick, you awake or what?"

Seventeen-year-old Nick Kelly immediately shot to attention upon hearing his name being called, looking around for the source of the voice.

Standing in the doorway was Nick's sixteen-year-old younger sister Marie, looking slightly concerned about Nick's sleeping state.

Marie was actually wearing her "new Keyblade Master outfit", a set of power-granting clothes granted to her by the Oracle after their Mark of Mastery Exam. This new outfit consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie with various safety pins and a checkered skirt along with a black belt and a fancy, golden buckle which resembled a winged heart, black-striped red fingerless gloves and black-striped white stockings, dark gray and checkered heeled boots, a deep blue bag adorned with golden designs, a blue officer's cap with a golden button, and a red choker necklace.

"Is everything okay, big brother?" Marie asked.

"Aside from another trip into my Dive to the Heart... mostly," Nick sighed, knowing nothing about him got past Marie.

Marie leaned against the door frame, trying to phrase this delicately. "You still upset over what happened yesterday?"

"I don't know _what_ the hell I was thinking when I lost my temper," Nick groaned. "I'm not usually like that..."

"I think the stress just got to both of you," Marie answered. "...are you going to go apologize?"

"Yeah," Nick responded. "I feel so stupid for what I said, and I need to go fix my mistake before it's too late."

Marie walked up and kissed Nick on the cheek to reassure him. "Go get her back, big bro. You got this."

With his sister's reassurance, Nick felt a little more confident in his ability to make things right and rushed out of the Kelly house.

However, about halfway to his target destination, Nick was forced to stop in his tracks when pools of darkness opened all around him, spawning a pack of Heartless to attack him.

At least half of them were Neoshadows, but a group of them were flying Heartless that resembled a cross between a bat and an umbrella.

"Of course, as if I need _more_ distractions when I'm in a foul mood right now!" Nick growled, his Keyblade Master outfit materializing. "Get _out of my way_, you freaks!"

One of the Neoshadows began to twirl through the air, but Nick lunged for it, swinging the Kingdom Key in an overhead slice that bisected the Neoshadow, just in time for two of the Flutterings to divebomb him.

Nick spun around with the Kingdom Key extended to get the Flutterings to back off, then cast Thundaga to rain lightning bolts down around him that blasted a bunch of the Heartless away, even defeating some of the Flutterings instantly.

One of the Neoshadows sunk into the ground and traveled to just under Nick, but he was ready, backflipping away from the upward stab the Neoshadow made, then launching himself forward to attack with a Stride Break that split it in half, its halves popping into dark mist that quickly evaporated.

Four more Flutterings surrounded him, but Nick made short work of them by swinging upwards and unleashing a Ripple Drive that eliminated them on the spot.

"This is the _last_ thing I need right now," Nick groaned as he turned back to his destination...

...only to see Cornelia Hale herself standing in the front doorway of her house, having heard the commotion caused by Nick fighting the Heartless.

_Oh, crap, this wasn't in the plan,_ Nick thought, trying to think of something he could say as Cornelia slowly walked over to where he was standing. _Say __**something**__, Nick, otherwise she's not gonna believe you're sincere!_

To Nick's surprise, Cornelia threw her arms around him and started crying.

"Cornelia, wha...?"

"Oh, Nick, I'm so sorry!"

Naturally, Nick was confused. "W-Why are _you_ apologizing, Cornelia?" Nick asked. "_I'm_ the one who lost my temper when I shouldn't have! _I'm _the one who snapped!"

"But I didn't make things any better by arguing with you!" Cornelia cried. "I could have been the better and just put an end to it, but..."

Unable to hold themselves back any longer, Nick and Cornelia leaned forward and kissed, both of them allowing their tears to fall unchecked.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing, Cornelia," Nick stated.

"No, Nick, I just made it worse by firing back," Cornelia countered. "You were already in a bad mood after what that jerk Uriah said about Marie, and I shouldn't have made it worse. Can you ever forgive me?"

"That's... what I was on my way to do," Nick admitted. "I felt so stupid when I got home yesterday, so _absolutely stupid_ for making you cry when I promised myself I'd never do that..."

Nick and Cornelia just stood there holding each other, both of them glad to get this matter off their chests after agonizing over it for what felt like weeks.

"Can we please put this whole incident behind us, Nick?" Cornelia asked. "I felt so bad when I got home yesterday, and I... I just..."

Nick leaned over and kissed Cornelia on the cheek. "Apology accepted, sweetheart."

Cornelia couldn't help but blush at that name. Even though they rarely dipped into "romantic pet name" territory (even if it was only to keep Irma from teasing them about it, which she did anyway because Irma), Cornelia still appreciated the nicknames regardless.

A loud clank caught the two lovers' attention. Nick was the first to look towards the source of the sound, and, to his surprise, he saw what appeared to be a keyblade lying on the cement near the driveway of the Hale house.

"Okay, that's weird," Nick quipped.

"Yeah, that wasn't there when I came out here," Cornelia stated.

Curious as to where this keyblade had come from, Nick walked over and picked it up to examine it.

This keyblade appeared to have a fire and summer theme to it, with a handle guard consisting of tulips and lilies, a hilt resembling a blooming red rose, a blade that resembled a skinny tree topped with a dark green tangle of leaves and a ruby-red sunburst acting as the teeth. The token, connected by a strand of cloth that resembled a stream of fire, was the elemental symbol of fire, a dark red, incomplete triangle.

"Okay, this is an interesting-looking keyblade," Nick stated. "But what's it doing here?"

"And why does it look like something Taranee would use?" Cornelia asked. "It's got the symbol of fire on it..."

"Good question," Nick quipped, lifting the strange keyblade behind his back and letting it vanish for the moment.

"Are you going to hold on to it?" Cornelia wondered.

"Might as well," Nick answered. "I have a feeling it's gonna be important later."

Just then, a loud explosion caught Nick and Cornelia's attention. When they spun around to find the source, they noticed a rather large Heartless stomping through the town plaza, its appearance that of a stone golem with beady yellow eyes covered in thick metal armor dusted shades of black and purple. It was carrying a gigantic double-bladed labrys decorated with the same face as the Heartless itself.

"Oh, I don't think so," Nick growled. "Come on, Cornelia, let's go send this thing packing."

"That's the idea," Cornelia giggled as she and her boyfriend summoned their keyblades and rushed towards the town plaza.

The two wielders were so focused on taking down the marauding Heartless that they failed to notice two other keyblade wielders nearby.

The boy was about Nick's age, with short, spiky brown hair and blue eyes, and the girl was about Cornelia's age, with short green bobcut hair and green eyes to match.

"Hey, did you see him?" Justin asked to the person trailing behind him. After leaping to eviscerate another Neoshadow that was in her way, Mira skidded to a stop to catch her breath.

"How could I not?" Mira gasped, balancing herself on Starlight. "It's still the same, right?"

"Honestly, I'm a little annoyed that we're suddenly not allowed to interfere or even help him out," Justin proclaimed, swinging his Starlight in frustration. "After all, we've spent the past _two years_ just exploring the worlds. Why can't we help him?!"

"I think Mallory said something about protecting the world order," Mira answered.

"The world _order_?! Not this bullcrap again!" Justin bellowed, causing Mira to squeak in fright and back a few steps away. After all, even after all this time, Justin was still scary when he got angry.

"Seriously, what's even the _point_ of this whole 'world order' shtick when the freakin' Heartless are a thing?!" Justin shouted. "It _can't_ be that!"

Justin looked back, only to feel like a complete ass for unintentionally scaring Mira again. _I really need to stop doing that,_ Justin thought as he calmed himself down, then walked over and patted Mira's shoulder to calm _her_ down.

"Sorry about that, Mira," Justin stated. "I guess these past two years really haven't gotten my temper under control, huh?"

Mira just nodded and smiled, signaling that all was forgiven. "Maybe we'd better catch up with them," Mira stated. "If there's _bigger_ Heartless around here, we may need to step in."

That was all Justin needed to hear. Turning towards the large Heartless in the distance, Justin and Mira brandished their keyblades and charged, hoping they could lend their assistance in some way.

"Holy _crapbaskets_, that's a big one!" Nick shouted once he and Cornelia had arrived in the plaza and beheld the size of the Rock Troll.

"Well, you know what they say, right?" Cornelia giggled.

"I sure do," Nick responded. "Let's enforce the cliché, then."

The Rock Troll slowly turned towards Nick and Cornelia, then roared and raised its giant labrys, ready to smash them into pieces.

Nick simply raised the Kingdom Key to stop the labrys in its place, holding it away from him for a few seconds before shoving forwards, knocking the Rock Troll off balance so Cornelia could leapfrog over him and start attacking the Rock Troll's bulbous face with a long string of attacks.

Cornelia's combo was only broken when the Rock Troll began to spin its upper body around like a swivel, its labrys extended. The Earth Guardian forced herself to fall back to the ground and rolled under the Rock Troll's legs so she could strike at its back when it stopped spinning.

Feeling a little devious, Cornelia ducked, then swung Rockbreaker out to slash at the Rock Troll's legs, causing it to collapse to its knees. This put its face at ground level, thus allowing Nick to wail away at the Rock Troll's face with an Ars Arcanum.

A left-horizontal spiral slash, a right-horizontal flourish, a vertical uppercut, a downward spike, four left-to-right-to-left slashes, a diagonal uppercut, and a downward chop, Kingdom Key's blade leaving orange light trails with each movement Nick made.

An outward stab, a right-hand slice, two diagonal slashes in an X formation, a quick slap with the flat of the blade, and finally, Nick gripped his keyblade tightly, leaping into the air and slicing downward with all the force of a crashing airliner, splitting the Rock Troll's steel mask in half and allowing Cornelia to run around and stab Rockbreaker into the exposed face.

Before the Rock Troll could respond to this, Nick stabbed the Kingdom Key into the other side of the Rock Troll's face, and a second later, both Nick and Cornelia slashed upwards with their keyblades, eviscerating the Rock Troll's face and leaving its body to crash to the ground.

As the Rock Troll evaporated into wisps of darkness, Nick couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky that these large-scale Heartless didn't attract any attention from the other citizens of Heatherfield.

_Though, I guess it's fair to note that most of the people usually scatter like me in front of bees when the Heartless start attacking,_ Nick thought. _And, the only ones at Sheffield who knows about the keyblade are Uriah and the Grump Twins, and they definitely have the good sense not to blab about it._

"NICK, LOOK OUT!" Cornelia near-screamed.

Nick barely had time to get his keyblade up to defend himself as, of all things, a Demon Tide came spiraling through the air and blindsided Nick with a flying tackle, causing Nick to get flung down the street. When Nick had finally stopped rolling, he looked up just in time to notice his Keyblade Master outfit dissolving into nothingness, leaving him in his normal clothes.

"Oh, that's not good," Nick stated.

The Demon Tide spiraled around the sky for a few second before barreling full-charge towards the obviously weakened Nick.

"And _that's_ even _less_ good!" Nick shouted as he attempted to get to his feet. That last attack had hurt like hell, after all.

Just as the Demon Tide was about to finish the job it had started, Mira planted herself firmly in front of Nick, raising her Starlight keyblade to conjure a massive Reflect barrier in front of them. The Demon Tide crashed into the barrier, unable to stop itself once committed to its attack.

While this was happening, Justin leaped in and swung his Starlight at the Demon Tide's core a few times, causing the swarm to back off.

Before Nick could process what was happening, an oppressive blue ring of light surrounded the Demon Tide's core before being battered by a barrage of what appeared to be souped-up Firaga spells. This attack finally forced the Demon Tide to retreat, flying into the horizon and eventually vanishing from sight.

"Yeah, come back when you can actually put up a fight!" Katelyn shouted, waving her Starlight threateningly towards the retreating Demon Tide.

"Um, I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you," Mallory reprimanded. "You clearly saw what it did to Nick, right?"

"Wait, didn't Nick take one of those things down two years ago?" Justin wondered.

"If I remember what we were told correctly, he actually had quite a bit of help in taking it on," Mira quipped. "And... this might be me, but didn't that one seem _way_ stronger than the one _we_ fought?"

"That _can't_ be a good sign," Mallory groaned. "If they're getting stronger each time they pop up, something really _bad_ must be happening..."

Amongst all the discussion about where the Demon Tide had come from, Cornelia helped Nick to his feet so he could inquire about what exactly was going on.

Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, and Mira all huddled together in a circle and began chattering to themselves about the situation. While they did this, Nick decided to see what exactly had happened to him due to the Demon Tide's surprise attack.

Attempting to switch between his different keyblades only yielded the Kingdom Key and Starlight, and trying to cast a spell, even a simple Fire spell, yielded absolutely nothing.

_Well, that's disheartening,_ Nick thought. _I must have lost the grand majority of my keyblades and powers when I got blindsided. If a Demon Tide's strong enough to do that by just __**clipping**__ me, then..._

After Nick's name came up in the quartet's hushed conversation, and it was here that Nick decided he'd had enough waiting.

"Um... could I possibly get a footnote here?" Nick asked, drawing the quartet's attention to him. "I definitely appreciate the assist in saving my bacon, make no mistake, but what exactly is a freakin' _Demon Tide_ doing here?!"

Katelyn simply sighed in frustration, understanding that Nick probably didn't remember them. "There's a bad omen in the air, Nick," Katelyn answered. "Demon Tides usually only appear when there's a great darkness approaching, unlike its lesser Demon Towers."

"Okay, second question, how do you know my boyfriend?" Cornelia asked, now slightly on the defensive. "I'm pretty sure we've never met before..."

After taking a good long look at the four keyblade wielders in front of him, something finally clicked in Nick's thought process.

"Wait a minute," Nick stated. "You're... my 'guild', right?"

"Well, we weren't exactly a _guild_, but..." Mira stated before registering what Nick had just said. "Waitwaitwaitwait_wait_, you remember us?!"

Nick just smiled and summoned Starlight, the only keyblade he had left besides his default Kingdom Key, and this garnered an appropriate reaction from the quartet.

"Strelitzia told me everything about the age of fairy tales," Nick explained. "I don't remember _all_ of the adventures I've most likely been on with you guys, but Strelly _did_ tell me how close we were back then."

That was all Mira needed to hear, squealing happily and throwing herself into Nick's arms before anyone could stop her.

"You _knew_ she would do this," Mallory quipped, glancing at Justin.

Katelyn walked over and gently pulled Mira back by her shoulders. "Easy, girl," Katelyn giggled. "We don't wanna overwhelm him too quickly, do we? Besides, he's already got a girlfriend, as you can see."

"Well, technically, he's got _two _girlfriends," Cornelia laughed.

_Oh, here it comes,_ Nick thought.

"Wait, _two_?" Mallory gasped. "Doesn't that only happen in..."

"Okay, I'm putting a moratorium on that _right now_," Nick proclaimed.

"Right, sorry," Mallory replied, blushing slightly.

"I'm so sorry, Nick, I just couldn't help myself," Mira stated, shaking her head to clear her mind. "I used to have a _huge_ crush on you back in Daybreak Town, but you never seemed to notice... I always thought you were interested in Strelitzia..."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to look back on my memories whenever they all decide to come back," Nick quipped.

Mira, unable to resist her urges any longer, leaned over and kissed Nick on the cheek before being once again pulled back by Katelyn. "Down, girl," Katelyn teased.

"HEY!"

Nick and Cornelia spun around upon hearing themselves being addressed, only to see Will Vandom, Keeper of the Heart, rushing over to them.

"What is it, Will?" Cornelia asked.

"We've been summoned by the Oracle," Will answered, already fishing out the Heart of Candracar. "Sounds like we've got trouble."

"And I'm pretty sure I know what that trouble is," Nick responded. "After all, it's what my friends and I became Keyblade Masters for."

Nick looked back at Mallory. "Will you all be okay while we're gone?" Nick asked.

"Of course! We're keyblade wielders, after all!" Katelyn proclaimed, hefting her Starlight proudly.

"In fact, we're damn good keyblade wielders!" Justin bellowed, only to be dope-slapped by Mallory. "OW! What was _that_ for?!"

"Um, doof, last time you said that, I had to _literally_ drag you out of the Dark Corridor Trials because you went in _far_ before you were ready," Mallory stated.

Justin had no rebuttal for that.

"Don't you worry, Nick! We'll protect your home while you're away!" Mira stated. "It's what we all promised to do, after all."

Nick threw his free hand up in a mock-salute before doubling back to join Cornelia and Will on their way to Candracar.

"Hey, guys?" Mallory asked. "Nick said he might have known what this trouble is. What do _you_ think it could be?"

"I have no clue, but if it's anything like _that_, the worlds might be in big trouble," Katelyn answered. "_That_ was more than enough for us to deal with."

* * *

"Wow, you're all here already?" Nick asked when he realized the rest of W.I.T.C.H. was already waiting in the Congregation Hall for them.

"Yeah, it was kinda an _emergency_ summons," Irma Lair quipped.

Nick glanced around for two people he was sure would be here, if the summons was as big of an emergency as he believed it to be.

"Um, where's..."

Nick's question was answered when he was suddenly grabbed in a flying hug and knocked down to the ground. Upon glancing up, he saw who else but Maylin Rae, once known as Meiling Li, all over him and looking very worried.

"Maylin? What's the matter?" Nick asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that, Nick! What the heck _happened_ to you?!" Maylin exclaimed. "I can tell just by looking at you that your powers are _gone_!"

"Short story, Cornelia and I were fighting a big Heartless in Heatherfield, then I got freaking _sucker punched_ by a souped-up Demon Tide that demolished most of my powers," Nick explained. "Damn thing wrecked most of my keychains, too. All I've got left is my basic Kingdom Key and the Starlight that Strelly gave me."

"Sounds like you've had a rough day, huh?" Haruka Rose stated.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Nick stated. "Because I'm pretty dang sure on why the Oracle called all of us here."

"You are correct in your assumptions, Master Nick."

Himerish, the Oracle of Candracar, had appeared just ahead of the group, standing tall and wielding his own keyblade, Master Keeper.

"Surely, you know of the great evil that is approaching our worlds," Himerish proclaimed. "The very same threat that I put you and your fellow keyblade wielders through the Mark of Mastery Exam to prepare you for."

Nick just nodded. "The Dark Mother."

"To be honest, we've known she was coming for a good couple years now, right?" Hay Lin asked. "This can't be the only reason you've called us here, Your Majesty."

"Ever perceptive, my Guardians," Himerish responded. "Now that she draws ever closer to our worlds, I now understand what exactly she intends to do."

"And that would be...?" Will asked.

Himerish took a deep breath before answering.

"Have you, by any chance, heard of the χ-blade?"

Naturally, most of W.I.T.C.H. was confused, but Maylin and Haruka gasped in shock upon hearing Himerish mutter the name of the ancient weapon.

"You... you _can't_ be serious, Your Majesty," Maylin gasped. "How does she know about that ancient thing?!"

"Wait, you said χ-blade, right?" Nick asked. "It sounds like it's different from the ones we wield."

"It is, Master Nick," Himerish answered. "The χ-blade is the progenitor of all keyblades that exist today, and the protector of the one and only true Kingdom Hearts. When the Keyblade War ended, the χ-blade was shattered, separated into twenty pieces, seven of light and thirteen of darkness."

It didn't take long for Nick to put the pieces together. "She's gathering those fragments to remake the χ-blade, isn't she?"

"Yes," Himerish stated. "The Dark Mother seeks hearts both of pure light and pure darkness in order to forge the χ-blade and attain the ultimate power she seeks."

"Since you guys weren't with us when I figured out what was going on with the off-worlders," Haruka explained to W.I.T.C.H., "the Dark Mother used to be Meter, the Elemental Queen of Spring. Meter and the other Queens ruled over their respective elements until Meter's heart began to fill with arrogance and a lust for power, most likely caused by learning of the χ-blade. Meter turned on her fellow queens, only to be defeated and imprisoned in the nothingness away from the worlds. However, some of her seeds found their way to other worlds as a way for her to eventually regain her strength and break out of her prison."

"I fear, even now, that she has escaped and once again seeks to recreate the χ-blade and bring all worlds to ruin," Himerish proclaimed. "That is why I have called you here. Your next task as Keyblade Masters is to defeat Meter before she can forge the χ-blade."

Nick glanced down at his clothes. "Um... I may have hit a snag, in that a Demon Tide sideswiped me and took most of my powers with it..." Nick sighed.

Himerish simply smiled before raising Master Keeper and swinging it in wide circles, drawing patterns of light energy as he did so. After the pattern was complete, Himerish stabbed Master Keeper through the pattern, and chains of light burst forth to envelop Nick in a bright flash.

When the light cleared and everyone could see Nick again, he was wearing a black jacket with grey pockets and a stripe of the same color on each sleeve. The hood, sleeves and jacket had a red lining, and six buttons could be seen on the front. Underneath, he wore a black tank top with a V-neck style collar and white lining. Covering his hands were gauntlets with a similar color scheme to his jacket, with red linings and grey circles on the backs, with yellow buckled straps wrapped around his wrists, leaving the palms of his hands exposed. He was also wearing black shorts with several grey pockets, a red band wrapping around each pant leg, and small yellow shoes with blue straps.

"Oh, yeah, _much_ better," Nick quipped.

"Still dashing as ever, huh, Corny?" Maylin giggled.

"Yep," Cornelia admitted.

"With this outfit, you will discover wondrous new powers over the course of your journey," Himerish proclaimed. "But, much _like_ your previous journey, you will need to discover these powers on your own."

"I got no problem with that," Nick quipped. "That's usually what happens whenever a new quest begins, right?"

"Is there anything _we_ can do?" Irma asked.

"As a matter of fact, my Guardians, there is," Himerish proclaimed. "As I have told you, the Dark Mother seeks pure hearts in order to forge the χ-blade. While Master Nick and his friends will scour the worlds, I would have you investigate Heatherfield for anyone that the Dark Mother may be targeting for their pure hearts."

"You really think they could be in Heatherfield?" Taranee wondered.

"I have no idea how many hearts she has gathered so far, if any," Himerish admitted. "This is why I wish to attack on two different fronts to prevent any more pure hearts from falling into her clutches."

"You can count on us, Your Majesty," Will stated, bowing slightly.

"Well, I think we need to get going, everybody," Maylin proclaimed. "The longer we stand around here yammering, the more time the Dark Mother's gonna have to enact her dastardly deeds!"

"So, off to adventure we go, then?" Haruka giggled.

"OFF TO ADVENTURE WE GO!" Maylin shouted.

_Glad to see my friends never really change much,_ Nick thought.

"Before you go, Nick, I have one last gift for you," Himerish proclaimed, raising Master Keeper and channeling his power into it. After a brief flare of golden light, Nick felt something fall into his hands.

Upon getting a closer look, Nick saw a large charm shaped mostly like a snowflake with the top spike extending upwards in a flare shape. Imprinted on the center of the charm was a circular symbol that reminded him of someone he knew.

"This is a Heartbinder," Himerish stated. "You have a gift for connecting with others, Nick, and this will make that gift stronger. Simply concentrate on its power with all your heart and you will summon an ally to help you in your time of need."

"Oh, new summon allies?" Maylin giggled. "Sweet!"

"There are more Heartbinders out there, waiting for you to find them," Himerish continued. "You will need all the strength you can gather in order to thwart the Dark Mother's wicked ambitions."

"But no pressure," Nick sighed as Haruka activated her wrist-mounted communicator, a device that resembled a futuristic sci-fi watch, to teleport the three of them to the Gummi Ship while Will used the Heart of Candracar to open a portal in the Veil that would return them to Heatherfield to get their search underway.

"May your hearts be your guiding key," Himerish proclaimed as his warriors set out to fulfill their duty.

After a few seconds of awkward (at least to her) silence, Marie stepped out from the hallway leading into the Congregation Hall, still wondering why she'd been told to wait out of sight.

"Um... Your Majesty?" Marie asked.

"Step forward, Master Marie," Himerish proclaimed.

As Marie did so, she instinctively summoned her keyblade, Darkgnaw, and let it rest on her shoulder.

"Okay, now that everyone's gone but you and me, could you please explain why you wanted me to wait until they all left?" Marie asked. "Because I'm still _really_ confused."

"It is because I have a very special task for you, Master Marie," Himerish explained. "And I did not wish for your brother to worry."

"Is it that serious?" Marie wondered.

"As a matter of fact, it is something only you can do," Himerish answered. "Due to your exposure to the darkness three years ago, and your subsequent revival, your heart has developed an astounding immunity to the corrupting effects of the unnatural darkness."

"So... I'm basically a paragon of sorts for the 'good' darkness?" Marie quipped.

"One of the most admirable qualities that you and Nick both possess is the ability to see the good in anything, light or darkness," Himerish stated. "You, of all people, know that darkness does not always have to be evil or bad. And that is precisely why I have selected you for this task."

"Which would be...?" Marie asked.

"Activity in the realm of darkness has been increasing lately," Himerish explained. "And it usually only does so in reaction to the approach of a great darkness."

"The Dark Mother," Marie stated. "You want me to go to the realm of darkness for... what, exactly?"

"There are hearts lost in the realm of darkness," Himerish continued, and Marie easily noticed his change in expression, as if recalling those memories was painful. "The bearers of these hearts may be our best chance at putting an end to the Dark Mother's ambitions should she manage to claim the hearts she seeks. With your immunity to its corruption, you are the only worthy candidate to travel to the realm of darkness and find these hearts so that you may bring them back to the realm of light."

"Your Majesty, if I may?" Marie stated. "Last time I was in the realm of darkness, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Even with my immunity, I'm worried something is going to go wrong. And that's not even considering the possibility that _really strong_ Heartless call that place their home."

"Fear not, for I have thought about this possibility," Himerish answered. "Your new clothes will grant you much more protection against the realm of darkness and its... shall we say, nastier elements. Also, I have one last gift for you."

Himerish raised Master Keeper and pointed it towards Marie. A golden light burst from her chest and converged around Darkgnaw, transforming it into a brand new keyblade.

This new keyblade, Moonlight, had a pink handle and a rectangular, lilac guard with long spikes on each of its corners, a long dark purple blade with concave edges, decorated with two indigo diamonds, and ending in a spike topped off by a dark purple crescent moon, lilac-colored teeth shaped like a large arrowhead, and a keychain token shaped like two criss-crossing crescent moons.

"I believe in you to the utmost extent, Master Marie," Himerish proclaimed. "I know you will not let me down."

"But no pressure," Marie giggled. Himerish allowed himself a small chuckle at that. "Wait, wait, I have one more question. How exactly do I get _into_ the realm of darkness? I'm pretty sure it's not the easiest place to get to, after all."

"That is true," Himerish admitted. "Normally, an entry point is only formed when a world is consumed by the Heartless, and these points do not stay open for very long."

"And I have a feeling that this probably won't be one of those 'get in and get out' types of journeys," Marie noted.

"However, I believe I have found a safe passage into the realm of darkness in Heatherfield," Himerish stated, causing Marie to gasp in surprise. "As you know, Heatherfield was once swallowed by the darkness. Various portals have opened recently, similar to the holes that once permeated the Veil. It is my belief that these portals will allow you to enter the dark realm."

"Well, then I guess I'd better get going, if I'm gonna find those hearts," Marie quipped. "But... can I ask one final question? Why did you want me to do this and not my brother? He's the 'hero' of this whole bonanza, after all."

Himerish sighed. "If Nick were to learn of this, he would most likely attempt a reckless rescue without knowing how the realm of darkness works," Himerish explained.

"And considering how Nick used to be so worried about letting his darkness take control of him, as we saw with that whole Anti-Form spiel," Marie admitted. "And considering that time we all got sent there after we met that corrupted Lily, we only got out thanks to whoever left that picture for us so we could open the gate. Yeah, that probably wouldn't end well. However, that would be exactly what Nick would do. He'd jump at any chance to save someone, regardless of the risk to himself. It's just the way he is."

"Regardless, you must make haste," Himerish stated. "As Master Maylin has stated, the longer we wait, the closer the Dark Mother gets to achieving her goals."

"Right, right, hurrying up now!" Marie stuttered, turning on her heel, slinging Moonlight atop her shoulder, and dashing out of the Congregation Hall to fulfill her own task. She stopped short of the doorway and turned back towards Himerish. "May my heart me be my guiding key."

Himerish stood there for a few seconds as Marie vanished, before noticing that someone else had appeared in the Congregation Hall, a figure wearing a very familiar black cloak.

Despite the cloak, Himerish apparently had no trouble recognizing the figure. "Luxu?"

"Oh, so you _do_ remember me now?" Luxu teased, clutching a keyblade that Himerish had hoped to never see again.

"Wait, why do you have the No Name?" Himerish asked, suddenly apprehensive.

"Well, it _is my _keyblade, after all," Luxu admitted. "I just took back what was given to me by you."

Luxu glanced around the Congregation Hall, lazily twirling No Name in his hands. "You know, I'm surprised your memories actually came back," Luxu stated.

"I prefer not to stay stuck in the past," Himerish answered. "Despite who I may have been in the past, this is who I am now, and I would not change that for anything."

"Wouldn't want you to," Luxu proclaimed. "You do you, of course. I just came to observe events as I was tasked to... _Master_."

* * *

Marie gazed out at the vistas of the realm of darkness, formed of multiple mountain-like landmasses with glowing blue cracks in them.

"Wow, never thought I'd return here willingly," Marie quipped, glancing at her reflection in Moonlight. "Well, no time for pontificating or whatever those people do. I need to start looking for those hearts."

Steeling her resolve, Marie began to walk forward down the winding and twisting pathways of the realm, hoping to find something here.

After sliding down a long and rather bumpy slope to get to a cavern-like area within a mountain, Marie noticed something very peculiar up ahead near the mouth of the tunnel.

It appeared to be the wreckage of some kind of space ship, and a very futuristic one at that. The body of the ship was mostly intact, though it was the only part of the ship that still remained as such. The wings of the ship were in many pieces along the cavern floor and wall, some of the pieces actually looking like they had been fused into the walls.

"Wha...?" Marie gasped. "I'm... pretty sure that's not supposed to be here. ...then again, the Oracle _did_ say that sometimes pieces of worlds lost to the darkness make their way here..."

Walking up to the hull and brushing some dust off of the side, Marie could now read the name "Normandy".

"I can only imagine those poor people," Marie sighed. "Not knowing what was happening, unable to do anything while their world ripped itself apart..."

Realizing that staring at the wrecked Normandy wasn't going to get her anywhere, Marie turned back to the tunnel, only to find herself surrounded by a small group of Neoshadows and Darkballs.

"Should have figured you'd be popping up eventually," Marie quipped, raising Moonlight into a battle stance. "Let's dance, dark boys!"

One of the Darkballs lunged for Marie, attempting to take a bite out of her, but Marie defended herself with Dark Barrier, creating a spherical shield of light around her. The Darkball slammed into the barrier and bounced back, giving Marie time to go on the offensive.

Like Nick, Marie's string of physical combos had changed since becoming a Keyblade Master. Marie attacked first with an upward vertical slash from the left leg, then a long rush forward with a diagonal spinning slash, followed by a vertical downward slash, then finishing with a lightning-fast double horizontal slash, left to right, destroying the Darkball.

A Neoshadow started floating before spinning towards her seemingly unprotected back, hoping to knock her down while she was dealing with the Darkball, but Marie simply raised another Dark Barrier around herself.

"Nice try," Marie giggled before leaping to meet the Neoshadow while it was disoriented, attacking first with a horizontal slash to the left, then a horizontal slash to the right, followed by a vertical downward chop, then finishing with a spinning somersault attack that trailed darkness as she spun. The Neoshadow didn't stand a chance, being split in half by the finisher.

Marie continued to dance around the area, attacking Neoshadows and Darkballs with her keyblade, while also noting that despite how easily she took them down, the few times she'd been hit by them tended to hurt a lot more than they had in the realm of light.

_Must be because the realm of darkness makes even the lesser Heartless stronger while they're here,_ Marie thought.

After splitting the last Darkball in half with an overhead slam, more Heartless spawned in, all of them Heartless that Marie had never seen before. They were all spherical in shape, with one type having long horns and flame sprouting from its head, one looking like a large boulder with spikes jutting out of its backside, and the third having what looked like a cartoon villain's mustache and a long beard made entirely of water.

"Great, now you throw the elemental ones at me," Marie groaned.

The Flame Core spat a fireball into the air that split into a dozen smaller fireballs to rain down on the area, forcing Marie to duck and weave between the fireballs to land a few solid hits on the Flame Core.

After landing a combo finisher on the Flame Core, Marie noticed that Moonlight had started glowing.

"Huh," Marie quipped. "Wonder what this does? Let's find out together, shall we?"

Marie spun Moonlight around in her hands, causing an approaching Earth Core to back away.

"_Formchange: Crescent Staff!"_ Marie shouted, her keyblade actually transforming into a long and elaborate staff with a crescent moon-shaped jewel at its tip. Marie whirled it all around her, keeping a couple approaching Water Cores from getting any closer, before holding it behind her in a battle stance.

"H-Holy crap, did my keyblade just _transform_?!" Marie gasped. "I guess I can gawk later. Let's see what this baby can do!"

Many of the different cores began to surround Marie with the intent of boxing her in, but Marie just swung her transformed keyblade, the long reach of the staff granting her enormous reach and mobility, with Marie performing many wide-reaching spinning strikes with the staff, including spinning leaps and long-range stabs, ending with a combo finisher in which she slammed her staff into the ground, causing a shockwave of purple crescent moons to explode outwards from the point of impact.

Marie continued her wild attack until her staff began to glow yet again. Leaping backwards to plant herself a good distance from all of the Heartless, Marie raised her staff, channeling its power to create a projection of the moon above her. Marie took a few steps forward, spinning her staff around her and causing the moon to whirl around her body, ravaging any Heartless that got caught in the strike, before leaping into the air and coming down with an overhead swing that thrust the moon into the ground and caused it to explode outwards, easily destroying all of the Cores around her.

When her final attack was spent, the staff reverted back to its keyblade form.

"Okay, _that was awesome_," Marie proclaimed. "I just bet that big bro can do that now, too..."

With the Heartless gone for the moment, Marie continued her trek, making her way through the cavern and past the wrecked Normandy. More Heartless continued to accost her, but Marie was easily able to handle them thanks to her new Formchange.

After a while of cave-dwelling, Marie eventually made her way out of the opposite cave mouth and found herself on what appeared to be a beach, with strange, almost organic rock formations far out in the distance.

"Huh, never thought there'd be a _beach_ out here in the dark world," Marie admitted as she walked forward and into the shallows at the edge of the sand, feeling the waves wash over her feet. If she was being honest, it brought back memories of all the beach trips she'd been on with Nick and his family.

Marie was quite pleased to know that she no longer felt that same empty feeling that she'd felt the last time she'd been trapped in this world, unable to find her way through the darkness and eventually forcing her brother to kill her to save all of existence.

Instead, she felt invigorated, full of energy and ready to do her part to stop the rise of the Dark Mother.

But still, she wondered...

"Who _exactly_ are these hearts that the Oracle wants me to find?" Marie asked herself as she sat down on the shore and gazed out into the horizon towards the luminescent moon that cast its soft light over this shadowy realm. "Who do they belong to?"

The sound of footsteps behind her caused Marie to jump back to her feet and summon Moonlight. "All right, who's there?!" Marie shouted.

Marie was expecting a rather strong Heartless, especially after the trip she'd had.

She definitely wasn't expecting to see a group of humanoid Heartless only a few inches shorter than her, with double-pointed witch hats, bat-like wings, and vicious-looking claws.

Marie prepared herself, only to find that the Darklings weren't attacking her, just standing there and staring at her.

"Um... okay, now I'm lost," Marie admitted. "I thought Heartless were supposed to act on instinct and just go for a target. Why are these things just staring at me like I'm one of those fancy chicken dinners big bro likes so much?"

Marie slowly raised Moonlight, ready to do whatever she had to. "Well, maybe I should just..."

"luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuux"

Stunned into silence for a second, Marie stared blankly at the Darkling that had just spoken. "Did... did you just speak?" Marie asked.

The lead Darkling brandished its claws, putting Marie on edge enough to bring Moonlight into a battle stance. The Darklings, spurred on by their leader's unspoken command, began to slowly march towards Marie.

"Lux," the lead Darkling proclaimed. "Gi... give... ...ux... Give me... _give me your Lux!_"

Marie readied Moonlight for a battle. "Okay, _that_ is ten pounds of 'hell no' in a five pound bag if I've ever seen it," Marie groaned.

One of the Darklings leaped forward, scratching at Marie with both of its claws, but she quickly defended herself with a Dark Barrier even as the other Darklings began to batter at the shield.

In a trick she'd picked up from Nick, Marie raised Moonlight and shattered the barrier, the blowback knocking the Darklings away from her.

Before the Darklings could reorient themselves, Marie swung Moonlight upwards and cast Zero Gravity, creating an anti-gravity field around her that caused the Darklings to start drifting in the air. This left them wide open for Marie to Formchange into Crescent Staff and start wailing on the Darklings.

Before too long, all that remained was the lead Darkling, about a few inches taller than Marie, with more wicked-looking claws and a positively _murderous_ expression on its yellow-eyed face.

"Give me your Lux, or I will tear it from your body myself!" the Darkling growled in a guttural voice.

"How about 'hell no'?!" Marie countered, swinging Crescent Staff around in a spinning motion to deflect the Darkling's lunge attack.

"I can practically _taste_ the Lux you radiate," the Darkling laughed.

"Okay, _gross_!" Marie shuddered as she rushed forward to start beating on the Darkling with her staff, eventually culminating in slashing it in half with a vicious horizontal swing.

The Darkling bellowed in disbelief before evaporating into little wisps of darkness that quickly faded away.

As Marie reverted her staff back to her keyblade, she realized that she was probably in over her head if she was encountering Heartless that could _talk_.

"Yeah, like that's ever stopped us before," Marie giggled, thinking about her brother's gung-ho attitude when it came to fighting the Heartless.

Deciding that she probably needed to beat it out of this place, Marie started walking along the shoreline to another section of the beach, where she saw a pathway leading into another mountain with a ramp jutting out from it.

"Well, might as well take the obvious path, then," Marie quipped.

_Please... help me..._

"Who... said _that_?" Marie asked.

* * *

When the light from the portal had finally died down, Nick could see that the Lanes Between looked very different from the last time he'd been in them, namely the end of his Mark of Mastery Exam.

"Wow, this place changed a _lot_ since our last voyage," Nick admitted.

"Well, that's because this technically isn't the _lanes_," Maylin proclaimed. "My dear fighting buddy, _this_ is the majesty that is the Ocean Between!"

"It basically houses all of the Lanes Between that have been discovered, and that means we'll most likely be seeing a _lot_ of new worlds on this journey," Haruka stated. "I don't think we really need to explain much more for the moment, so... how about we get this voyage underway?"

"You're the pilot, right?" Nick laughed.

Maylin suddenly sighed happily, then leaned over to hug Nick tightly. "I _really_ missed this, you know," Maylin stated.

"Missed what?" Nick wondered. "You hug the crap out of me practically every time I see you, after all."

"Just... this adventure," Maylin answered. "The feeling of going on a majestic adventure across the worlds with the two best friends I could have ever asked for..."

"It feels like so long ago that we would constantly get into comical arguments over what we were gonna do with our Gummi Ship," Haruka giggled. "Even though I quickly shot that down, since I'm the one who built this ship."

"This adventure's already off to a quirky start, and we haven't even gotten started yet," Nick stated. "Though I guess I'd expect nothing less."

"And, Nick?" Maylin asked, kissing Nick on the cheek. "I know for _damn_ sure that you're going to get your powers back and _then_ some. You did it before, and I know you can do it again. If you want, I can even let you use my old spell coins to get your magic spells back."

"Wait, don't you need those to use your magic?" Nick wondered.

"Not anymore, buddy," Maylin replied. "Since I became a Keyblade Master, my magic's only gotten more powerful, to the point that I don't even need my coins to cast magic spells. Just one of the perks of _finally_ fulfilling my dream!"

"And I don't think we'd appreciate the Dark Mother ruining that dream, right?" Haruka responded.

"Yeah, I hope that crazy lady is ready to deal with us," Maylin proclaimed. "Because we're not gonna show _any_ mercy!"

"Then, let's do as Haruka said and get this voyage underway," Nick stated.

"Roger _that_!" Haruka exclaimed, activating the control panel so she could take the wheel and begin flying the Gummi Ship through the Ocean Between, ready to get this adventure on the road.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Moonlight  
**_Base Strength: _**6  
**_Base Magic: _**5  
**_Ability: _**Magic Galvanizer **(Increase the damage you deal with magic in proportion to the length of your combo. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Crescent Staff** (Transform your keyblade into a long staff for far-reaching attacks that cover a wide range around you.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Moon-a-rang** (Brandish dual boomerangs for multi-hit attacks and long-range throws.)  
_Description: _Marie's new keyblade to aid her in traversing the realm of darkness. Well-balanced in both strength and magic.

* * *

On the next episode...

Maylin: Well, readers, our third adventure is ready to kick off!

Haruka: And it seems like we're once again stepping into familiar territory for our first stop.

Nick: Well, when you've got Creatures of Grimm prowling around _alongside_ the Heartless and Nobodies, trouble tends to be right around the corner in _every_ corner.

Haruka: Despite that, this city looks really cool. Guess it's a good thing the Grimm haven't run the place over like lots of these towns tend to do.

Nick: I think it's because there's a pretty huge Atlas military presence here.

Maylin: Wait, was that... guys, I think that was Adam!

Haruka: The jerk who took Yang's arm?! What's _he_ doing here?!

Nick: Whatever it is, it _can't_ be good. Let's see if we can head him off. Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "Taking the Bull By the Horns"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	2. Take the Bull By the Horns

"Wow, this place is _majestic_," Nick quipped as Haruka steered the Gummi Ship through a canyon with multiple crystal formations growing on the walls, shooting at Heartless laser traps on the way through.

"Yeah, there's a lot, and I mean _a lot_, to do out here in the Ocean Between as opposed to the Lanes," Haruka answered as she flew towards the large crystal sitting at the top of a plateau far above the canyon area, opening fire on it and eventually shattering it. "I can't count how many times Maylin and I have just whittled time away exploring the Ocean, shooting things and finding all kinds of hidden secrets."

"It almost feels like an adventure in and of itself, honestly," Maylin admitted. "Just seeing what kind of cool stuff is just waiting out there for a group of brave adventurers like us to find..."

Maylin glanced towards a large Waypoint Station, an orbiting cluster of rings that served as warp points for the Gummi Ship to make travel just that little bit easier. Just beyond the Waypoint Station, she saw a large structure resembling a city, no doubt another world for them to explore.

"There, there!" Maylin exclaimed. "New world dead ahead!"

"I see it," Haruka replied, piloting the Gummi Ship towards the world in question, which appeared to be a San Francisco-style city bordered by a massive stone wall and dotted by various Victorian-style houses.

"Does that place look familiar to you two?" Nick wondered.

"No clue, to be frank," Haruka answered. "But if it's in our crosshairs, we may as well touch down and see what's going on."

"Yeah, there's a good chance we might find one of those pure hearts down there," Maylin quipped before putting her finger to her chin and doing some thinking. "Now that I think about it, how do you suppose we find these pure hearts? We literally have no idea who could be holding them, light or dark."

"Guess all we can do is play it by ear like we usually do," Haruka stated. "Let's land and see what we can do to help."

"All right, the adventure begins yet again!" Maylin exclaimed.

Nick couldn't help but smile at his friends' antics.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The trinity (Maylin's term) arrives yet again on the World of Remnant, this time in a harbor town called Argus. Team RWBY and their friends are here, on their way to Atlas to secure the Relic of Knowledge, only for their plans to hit a slight snag when dealing with the stingy Atlas military and, of all people, Adam Taurus, who looks to enact his selfish desires and take revenge on Blake. Could this corrupt soul, blackened by rage and hatred, be one of the hearts that the Dark Mother needs?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World: **In grand Key to Her Heart tradition, the first stop on this final quest is Rooster Teeth's RWBY. This time we're covering the events of the second half of Volume 6, specifically chapters seven through thirteen, starting from the moment the gang arrives in Argus.

**EDIT 11/22/19: **Because dumb ol' me forgot to give the first Seeker of Darkness a proper boss fight, said boss fight has been added in.

* * *

Episode 2: Take the Bull by the Horns

As Yang entered a code on the keypad to lock the Bumblebee safely in the nearby garage along with their makeshift trailer, the rest of the group took their sweet time admiring the city of Argus, knowing that this was their first time here.

Through the bustle of the crowd, Nora pushed her way through when she noticed Oscar. "Cute boy OZ!" Nora shouted, catching Oscar's attention just in time to get glomped by the hyperactive Valkyrie, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Over here, guys!" Nora called out, bringing Jaune and Ren in her direction, the two of them having followed Nora through the crowd.

"Are you all okay, everyone?" Ren asked, stepping over to hug Yang.

"We've been worrying ourselves sick!" Jaune proclaimed, giving Blake a hug.

"It's been... well, quite the crazy trip," Yang admitted.

"Understatement of the century," Weiss stated, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Wait, who's the old lady?" Nora asked when she caught sight of Maria, to which she just scoffed. Kids these days, right?

"I'm just glad you're all safe," Blake stated.

"Oh, man, you guys are gonna love this place!" Nora giggled.

As everyone else began conversations of their own, Ruby and Jaune looked at each other, just staring for a few seconds until Ruby threw herself forward to hug Jaune.

"Hey, I promised, right?" Ruby stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Jaune replied, wiping a tear from his eye. "Yeah, you did. It's really great to see you guys."

Ruby smiled brightly, only to gasp at a familiar sight far behind them. Naturally, everyone else in the group followed Ruby's eyes.

"Wow, this place is pretty slick," Maylin admitted as she gazed around the vistas of Argus.

"We've seen a lot of slick places on our travels," Haruka stated. "Just add one more to the list."

Nick glanced far into the distance, not yet noticing that Ruby and the others were waving to them. He recognized the large military base stationed at the very edge of the city, a type that Atlas military often used.

"Girls? Are we on Remnant again?" Nick asked.

"What makes you say that?" Haruka wondered.

"Does that military base look familiar to you?" Nick stated. "Like, an _Atlas_ military base?"

"Wait, wait, what is _Atlas_ doing in this city?" Maylin quipped. "_Especially_ after all the bullcrap they've pulled since the Fall of Beacon! Didn't Weiss say that Atlas' borders were closed by General Ironwood?"

"Apparently the military didn't get that memo," Haruka stated.

Nick suddenly spun around, towards a nearby part of the city wall, where he could see a couple being harassed by a group of Heartless.

"Oh, wonderful," Maylin sighed. "When are these freaks going to learn that you _do not_ interfere with the course of love?!"

"Um..." Nick quipped.

"Long story, Nick," Haruka giggled. "Let's get over there and help them out."

With that, the trinity summoned their keyblades with a flick of their wrists. Nick had summoned Starlight, Maylin had summoned Counterpoint, and Haruka had summoned Divine Rose.

It didn't take long for Nick to notice that the girls' keyblades looked quite different than they had the last time he'd seen them.

Divine Rose now sported a sky-blue handguard with rose vines present on it, with flowers appearing on the rainguard and bottom. The rose vine on the blade had also engulfed the blade, with four roses decorating the blade, with the rose on the teeth developing a second rose. The keychain was now also a rose vine, with a leaf on the rose flower.

Counterpoint now had a guard that was indigo with more starry features, a golden blade decorated with red, magenta, and aquamarine notes, the treble clef on the teeth fading from blue to magenta, and the star on its hat was now a sun.

"I see you noticed our upgraded keyblades," Maylin giggled.

"We know a really good smith who opened up a 'Keyblade Forge' for us so we can use any synthesis materials we find to upgrade our keyblades," Haruka explained. "We'll take you there once you've gotten some more keyblades."

The Heartless that were harassing the young couple noticed the trinity and floated over to attack. There were quite a few of them, resembling the old wizard-like enemies from so long ago.

One type was colored a bright pinkish-red and had a strange glyph behind it, the second type was colored aquatic blue and was surrounded by three spinning orbs of water, the third type was colored bright yellow and held an arcane-looking sigil behind it, and the fourth type was colored bright white and green and was surrounded by a small twister.

"Oh, fantastic, the mages came back," Maylin groaned. "And now they're _propagating_!"

"Okay, Nick, here's the lowdown," Haruka stated. She always told Nick about any Heartless they'd encountered that he hadn't, to bring him up to speed on what they were up against. "The red one is a Vermillion Samba, which is the fire guy. The blue one is a Marine Rumba, a water mage. The yellow one is a Gold Beat, a thunder artist. And the green one is a Malachite Bolero, a wind fighter. They're a good bit more powerful than the other 'mages', but these guys have one big weakness: they need to conjure up their sigils to perform their spells, so if you can interrupt them with a good 'ol keyblade to the face, they shouldn't be a problem."

"Sounds simple enough," Nick quipped, spinning Kingdom Key in his hands and charging forward to attack the Heartless.

Maylin and Haruka's combo strings had also changed since the last time Nick had seen them.

Maylin started with a horizontal slash to the right, then a downward slash, followed by a spinning slash started from the right side and finishing with a variant of her Magic Hour ability where she thrust Counterpoint to the sky and created two large orbs of magic that revolved around her for two seconds, shredding any Heartless that got close.

One of the Marine Rumbas tried to fly away from Maylin, but she quickly leapt after it and began another combo, consisting of a downward slash followed by two spinning strikes, one from the left and the next from the right, and finishing with a move that resembled Nick's old Magnet Burst finisher, spinning around to create a sphere of magnetic force that drew the Heartless around her in before exploding outwards, sending them flying.

Haruka started out with a quick, upward vertical slash, followed by a slower horizontal slash, then a dashing backflip slash that bumped her opponent into the air, and finishing with a short hop into a 360 degree spinning slash.

A Gold Beat tried to retreat in order to cast a spell, but Haruka simply followed it into the air and attacked it with an upward diagonal slash, then a dashing backflip slash, followed by a pirouette attack, and finishing with a powerful downward thrust that spiked the Gold Beat into the ground.

After about a minute of this relay, the Heartless had been defeated, leaving the couple to shout their thanks as they headed back into the city.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, huh?" Maylin giggled, turning back around to address Ruby, as she'd seen her during their fight...

...only for another Rock Troll to come crashing down right behind her.

"I never learn, do I?" Maylin groaned.

Nick noticed that many of the nearby citizens of Argus were beginning to panic, most likely thinking that a Grimm had invaded their city even if it didn't resemble any Grimm they knew.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Nick exclaimed to calm the crowd down. "We've got _this _one."

The Rock Troll began to stomp around the area, swinging its massive labrys much like the one Nick had encountered in Heatherfield. Nick swiftly raised the Kingdom Key to deflect the swings before leaping up to attack the Rock Troll's face a few times.

After hopping off of the labrys to dodge another swing and continue his combo, Nick suddenly noticed that the blade of Kingdom Key was glowing brightly.

Nick forced himself to return to the ground to avoid an overhead slash from the labrys so he could try out whatever this was.

"Hey, your keyblade's glowing for some reason," Maylin quipped.

"Whatever this is, I feel like it's gonna be incredibly useful," Nick stated, twirling Kingdom Key in his hands. _"Formchange: Second Form!"_

Nick's Kingdom Key changed slightly, its colors inverting like the one he'd been given by Aqua during their second visit to the Land of Departure, and his clothes returned to the black and silver ensemble that he'd worn during his entire second journey.

"Whoa! Okay, didn't know I could suddenly do _that_!" Nick shouted.

"Wait, didn't Strelitzia do this during your last duel?" Haruka asked. "She did exactly this and she got to use all of your moves!"

"Hey, maybe that's it!" Nick quipped, rushing over to attack the Rock Troll, using a Dodge Roll to avoid another labrys strike and confirming his theory that this form allowed him to access all of the abilities he had lost.

And sure enough, when Nick began to strike at the Rock Troll's face, his fighting style had become a mixture of many of the combat abilities he had learned on both journeys, including abilities like Slapshot, Vortex, and even the old reliable Sliding Dash.

While the Rock Troll attempted to recover from Nick's relentless barrage, Nick continued to ravage it with multiple combo finishers, starting with an Explosion, a revolving ring of five magical orbs, then a Stride Break, a short hop back followed by a powerful forward lunge, and then a Ripple Drive, where Nick swung Kingdom Key upwards and unleashed a large explosion of energy around him resembling a ruby-colored prism barrier.

Nick continued his attack by leaping into the air and using many of his aerial combat abilities like Aerial Dive, Air Spiral and Aerial Sweep, and then transitioned into another string of his classic combo finishers, starting with a Hurricane Period, a string of five somersaulting spin attacks, then an Aerial Finish, a rapid flurry of spiraling slashes around him, and finally a Magnet Splash, an updated version of his old Magnet Burst where Nick spun around to create a sphere of magnetic force that drew the Rock Troll towards him before exploding outwards alongside a ring of light orbs.

Deciding that now was the time to finish this, Nick segued into his special attacks, starting off with a Stun Impact, where he slammed his keyblade into the ground to project a bubble-shaped shockwave to stun the Rock Troll, followed by a Sonic Blade, where he lunged for the Rock Troll's face multiple times at high speeds, and ending with an Ars Arcanum, a savage flurry of wicked slashes ending with a spinning buzzsaw strike and an overhead slam that finally split the Rock Troll's faceplate in half and caused it to collapse onto its back before dissolving into little wisps of darkness.

"And that's how it's done," Nick proclaimed, his Formchange fading and returning him to his current outfit.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Ruby shouted as Team RWBY and RNJR approached the trinity.

"It's good to see you guys still got the moves," Yang laughed.

"Naturally," Maylin giggled.

"I'm kinda starting from square one thanks to a cheap shot, but I'm getting by," Nick quipped.

Once everything was settled down, the entire group boarded a trolley to travel through the city.

"Honestly, Argus is a lot bigger than I thought it would be," Yang admitted.

"Argus is actually one of the largest non-capital cities on the planet," Ren explained.

"No way! That's so cool!" Ruby gasped.

"Wait a second, wouldn't it be really freakin' hard to settle such a place away from the main kingdom?" Haruka asked.

"Well, it honestly was until Mantle showed up," Jaune explained. "The early settlement attempts by Mistral... didn't go well, to say the least. But the colonists from Mantle helped them brave the cold climate and return for the goods that Solitas couldn't provide for them."

"The two nations worked together and created this hybrid city," Ren continued. "Even though it falls under Mistral domain, Atlas has a military presence here so they can keep the people safe and keep a steady trade between the two nations."

"Until recently..." Nora quipped.

"So, what have you all been up to?" Ruby asked. "It feels like it's been forever since we've seen you guys!"

"Well, we've been through a lot," Maylin answered. "I don't know how long it's been for you guys, but two years have passed for us since the end of our last adventure. Good news is, we became Keyblade Masters! The bad news... we kinda had to kill that evil future version of Nick's daughter. She really gave us no choice in the matter."

"I'm sure you did what you had to do," Blake replied. "That kind of decision is never easy."

"Then, we fought another big Heartless, but then Nick got side-swiped by a really powerful Demon Tide and lost most of his powers," Haruka continued. "And now we're on yet another adventure, this time to stop an ancient evil from forging what's basically the ultimate keyblade and wrecking everything."

"Do you have any idea what she needs to forge it?" Weiss wondered.

"We're not entirely sure, but we know she needs a bunch of pure hearts in order to make it, both of light and of darkness," Nick stated. "That's part of our task, to find these pure hearts and keep them from falling into the wrong hands."

"Hey, I just realized your sister's not here," Ruby quipped. "Is she doing okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Nick answered. "She's just got her own thing to do, apparently."

"Okay, so if we can ask, what's been happening with _you_ guys since the last we saw each other?" Maylin wondered. "Considering Blake and Yang are back, well..."

Ruby took that opportunity to explain basically everything that had happened between the fight with the Nuckelavee and now, how the team had finally reunited in Haven and fought off Salem's faction at Haven Academy, even driving the White Fang away, to acquire one of the four sacred Relics brought forth by the brother gods.

There seemed to be something that Ruby was leaving out of the story, but the trinity most likely realized that the left-out part was probably a personal thing, and so they didn't press any further.

Once the storytelling was finished, the trolley slowed to a stop so everyone could hop off and make their way into the city.

"We should probably start looking for a ship," Blake stated.

"So, where have you guys been staying while we've been away?" Oscar asked.

Jaune could only chuckle nervously before being interrupted by a familiar voice.

"There you are!"

The trolley moved away to reveal a woman on the opposite side of the street. She was a young woman with wavy, dirty blond hair and blue eyes, wearing an orange top with a beige vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. In addition, she had a wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.

She was carrying an infant with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white and blue long-sleeved shirt with denim overalls and white socks.

Yang blinked a couple times as the realization dawned on her. "Wait, is that...?"

"Hey, Saph," Jaune laughed, waving to Saphron. Ruby squealed happily, stars in her eyes once she made the connection herself.

"Ooh, I can't believe I get to meet your sister, Jaune!" Ruby giggled. The entire group had convened in the house so they could introduce Jaune's sister Saphron Cotta-Arc. "I have so many questions!"

"I can definitely give you the rundown later," Nora giggled.

"Oh, knock it off," Jaune groaned.

"Oh, come on, I _love_ telling the stories of my baby brother," Saphron laughed, pinching Jaune's cheek.

"I am _not_ a baby!" Jaune proclaimed, flailing his arms about, then pointing at Adrian, Saphron's son. "_That_ is a baby."

Adrian didn't seem to take that well, huffing at Jaune even while Weiss and Yang were fawning over Adrian's overwhelming cuteness, making silly faces and baby talk at him.

"So, Saphron, I know Jaune has a lot of sisters," Haruka asked. "Are you the only Arc that lives here?"

Maylin glanced over towards a photo on the nearby bookshelf that depicted all of the Arc siblings, with Jaune himself at the center, sporting pigtails and a rather deadpan expression on his face. Jaune was holding a sign that read, simply, "HELP" in big bold letters, while his sisters did various crazy things around him.

"Yup! Moved out of there the second I was able to," Saphron answered. "Jaune and I are the only two of us that live away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his _big sister_, eh?"

Jaune stuttered a few times in order to come up with an appropriate reply, and Saphron seemed to pick up on this.

"Aw, you didn't deny it, right?" Saphron laughed.

Jaune and Saphron continued to pretend fight with each other, pulling each others' cheeks, until the sound of the door opening yanked them from their antics.

Another young woman about Saphron's age was standing in the doorway carrying multiple bags of groceries. She had dark brown eyes and short, dark brown hair with a smooth bang going down her forehead and between her eyes, and was wearing a dark navy collar shirt with a light-blue cardigan, dark-gray jeans and red sneakers, along with red glasses and a wedding ring similar to Saphron's.

"Oh, everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta," Saphron proclaimed.

"Nice to meet you," Blake stated.

"Hey there!" Nora proclaimed.

"Likewise," Maylin replied.

"This is quite a party, huh?" Terra teased. "You definitely weren't kidding. Hey, honey, can I get some help with these, please?"

Saphron quickly hopped to her feet to assist her wife.

"Society's definitely come a long way, hasn't it?" Maylin stated.

"No kidding," Haruka answered.

"I seriously don't know why it took Heatherfield and their stupid government agents so long to realize it," Nick stated. "Love is love, right? It doesn't matter who it is."

"Right on the money, Nick," Maylin giggled, thinking back to certain moments from their previous adventures.

Later that night, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were making sandwiches for the group when the trinity returned from a short expedition to clear out some local Heartless from the area. After all, the Heartless seemed to be getting a lot more brazen in their attacks, no doubt due to the approaching darkness of the Dark Mother.

"And you're sure it's okay for us to stay here with you?" Weiss asked Saphron.

"Of course it is, Weiss," Saphron replied. "We're always happy to house Huntsmen and Huntresses here."

"You've all risked so much in order to keep us safe," Terra continued. "It's really the least we can do, especially for such an elite Huntsman like yourself, Qrow. Though, to be honest, I was surprised to learn that you had students helping you out. Is that... you know, _legal_?"

Apparently, Qrow wasn't paying attention, so Ruby had to bump his arm to get him to answer.

"Uh, of course," Qrow answered. "Just think of it as an extended training mission. Trust me, I was a professor. Even went to the same academy they did. And believe me, these kids are way better than we were at that age."

As Qrow continued to talk, Jaune, Ren and Nora re-entered the room carrying a plate of sandwiches. To no one's surprise, Ruby lit up significantly upon seeing the sandwiches, as it had been far too long since she'd had some actual food.

"Well, not better than _me specifically_, but a lot of students..." Qrow started, only to be interrupted by Ruby.

"Shush, there's food!" Ruby giggled, already biting into her sandwich.

Saphron and Terra gave each other amused glances, only for Terra's scroll to start buzzing.

Terra let out a slightly annoyed sigh, knowing who was probably calling her right now. "Excuse me for a second," Terra quipped before ducking out of the room to answer her scroll.

"Is everything all right?" Nick asked after taking a bite of his sandwich.

"It's nothing to worry about," Saphron answered. "Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower, but unfortunately, that's also where the military's radar system is."

Saphron looked down at Adrian and started making baby talk to him. "And guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed for it?"

Terra poked her head back out from behind the wall, stated "Me" in a deadpan tone, then ducked back behind the wall.

"Ah, you know the higher-ups," Haruka laughed, remembering the Imperial Capital and its wretched government. Hopefully Night Raid had been able to clean house since they'd been there. "Always looking for _someone_ to blame so they don't take the blame themselves."

"So, what's your plan for tomorrow?" Saphron asked.

"Well, we're actually trying to get to Atlas," Ruby answered. "So, we'll probably start at the military base."

Ren and Nora gave each other a rather concerned look at that last.

"Okay, see, thing is, we already tried that, and... it didn't go super great, let's say," Jaune stammered.

"Hey, how hard can it be? Why don't we just try again in the morning?" Haruka replied.

Unknown to the group, a mysterious figure in a black coat could be seen watching them from a nearby window, alongside a man wearing a black blindfold over his eyes.

"You see, Adam? It is exactly as I have foreseen," the cloaked figure proclaimed. "Fate has indeed brought you here to enact your well-deserved revenge."

"But why can't I just slaughter them right now?" Adam Taurus shot back. "She's right there, and I plan to make her _suffer_."

"Patience, Adam," the cloaked figure reprimanded. "I know how you can go about it, and still get the revenge you deserve."

Adam simply glanced at the figure. "I'm listening."

* * *

"I'm telling you, this isn't gonna work," Jaune proclaimed as the group approached the Atlas military base. "I highly doubt they're going to listen to us a second time."

"There's no harm in trying, right?" Haruka quipped. "Maybe we'll accomplish something this time, maybe we won't. But we won't know unless we try."

"That's the spirit, girl!" Maylin laughed.

About halfway down the path that led to the base, Nick suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Everything okay, Nick?" Maylin asked.

Nick instinctively summoned his keyblade, causing Maylin and Haruka to do the same as a pool of darkness appeared on the ground just ahead of them.

From that pool, a strange-looking Heartless pushed its way out and faced the trinity down. It resembled a witch with a metallic dress, but instead of legs, its bottom half was a large, pink crystal ball, a cluster of pink crystals was jutting out of its hat, and it was carrying a staff with a pink jewel in the center, surrounded by a five-pronged sunburst.

"Oh, lovely," Blake quipped.

"Incoming!" Maylin shouted.

The Jewel Sorceress went to work instantly, swinging its staff to create a barrier of pink jewels around it so it could cast a spell.

"Okay, any ideas?" Ruby shouted, unfolding Crescent Rose.

"I think we're gonna have to remove that barrier before we can get at the big cheese," Yang proclaimed, already thrusting her hands forward to fire shots from the Ember Celica at the crystal barrier, cracking it in places.

While this was happening, Weiss went on the attack, moving in close even as the Jewel Sorceress released the crystals on its head and caused them to fly straight for Weiss. The heiress simply swung Myrtenaster and created a glyph that blocked the crystals, giving Nick the time he needed to leap over Weiss and fire his newly-gifted Thunder spell straight into the Jewel Sorceress' face, sending the large Heartless reeling.

"Maylin, give me a boost!" Nick shouted, and Maylin came running towards him. Nick leaped backwards into Maylin's arms, and the mage immediately tossed him into the air, high enough so he was face to face with the Jewel Sorceress.

Nick didn't waste any time, lashing out with an upward swipe, a spinning hook slash, a diagonal downward strike, and finishing with a spiral somersault attack very reminiscent of his old Hurricane Period finisher. When he fell back to the ground, Nick swung the Kingdom Key around him, shattering a couple parts of the crystal barrier and leaving a wide gap for the rest of the group to start attacking.

"Watch this," Nora giggled, unfolding Magnhild and charging in through the gap in the barrier Nick had made. "I'm gonna break your non-existent legs, jewel thief!"

The Jewel Sorceress slashed twice with its staff, but Nora deftly dodged each swing before swinging Magnhild out to smash it into the crystal ball, cracking it in a few places, before beginning to spin with her hammer extended to attack the crystal ball over and over. Nora finally finished her attack bringing Magnhild down in a vicious overhead swing, shattering the crystal ball and bringing the Jewel Sorceress to its knees, its barrier shattering in the process.

"Pour it on!" Nora shouted.

This was all Maylin needed to hear, dashing forward to attack the Jewel Sorceress while it was vulnerable, eventually blasting it back with a Magic Hour. Before she could fire a spell into its face, however, the Jewel Sorceress' crystal ball underside reformed and it created another barrier around itself.

Haruka slipped in while the Jewel Sorceress was distracted by casting another spell to slam Divine Rose into the ground to unleash a Tremor, in which a massive shockwave erupted from the point where Divine Rose hit the ground and created a small upheaval underneath the Jewel Sorceress.

Ruby lunged forward as the Jewel Sorceress fell to the ground, giving her the time to unleash her Petal Burst attack, where she spun into a small tornado of red roses and shot forward to drill through the body of the Jewel Sorceress, coming out on the other side of the crystal barrier.

This action stunned the Jewel Sorceress and gave Nick all the time he needed to Formchange into Second Form and ravage the dazed Heartless with an Ars Arcanum to finally defeat it.

The Jewel Sorceress fell flat on its face and dropped its staff, the crystal within shattering as it dissolved into wisps of darkness that quickly evaporated.

"There, one annoying Heartless toasted," Nick laughed.

"Well, that was fun," Ruby giggled, folding her scythe up for the moment. "I don't care what some dumb Heartless did to you, Nick, you've _still_ got the moves!"

"Of course he does," Maylin laughed, reaching over to hug Nick tightly. "That's our fearless leader for ya!"

Nick couldn't help but blush at how forward Maylin was being.

"Oh, you feeble-minded fool. _Still_ playing with powers you have no hope of comprehending?"

Nick re-summoned the Kingdom Key to his hands to face down this new threat, only to find another black-cloaked figure standing where the Jewel Sorceress had just been.

Before Nick or the others could make a snappy comment, Nick caught a sight of the weapon the cloaked figure was wielding.

It was a keyblade. Moreover, it was a keyblade that Nick recognized.

Darkgnaw, the keyblade that had once been wielded by...

"N-No way," Maylin stuttered. "There's _no freaking way_ that you can still be..."

"I would suggest looking with your eyes before letting your heart take over," the figure remarked before raising her hand to drop her hood.

"W-wait, is that...?" Ruby asked.

The figure in question looked like Marie, but a few years older and with red eyes instead of silver.

"What... the _hell_... are _you_ doing back here, you _monster_?!" Nick growled slowly as he faced down Mariko Kusumi, one of three avatars of the ancient deity Izanami-no-Mikoto. The very same Mariko Kusumi who was supposed to be dead and gone after being forcibly separated from her other avatars and destroyed by the light of Kingdom Hearts.

"The particulars are none of your business," Mariko proclaimed. "Just know that I am here to finish what I started three years ago."

"How the flying frack are you _still alive_, you heartless bitch?!" Maylin shouted, aiming Counterpoint for Mariko. "Didn't Kingdom Hearts freakin' _annihilate _you?!"

"You can count your lucky stars that I'm not here to fight you," Mariko laughed. "I'm merely passing through to give you all a warning of what is to come. It really doesn't matter what you do. The χ-blade _will_ be forged, despite all of your attempts to stop it."

"Oh? And what makes you say _that_?" Haruka shot back, brandishing Divine Rose. "Remember, you were constantly bragging about how all-powerful you were, and we_ still_ scuttled your plans even after you became Izanami-no-Mikoto. You seriously think you have some unbeatable fail-safe in place to stop us from taking you down again? Because we've knocked down _every single _'fail-safe' that villains like you have promised."

"Oh, it isn't some 'plan', little brat. This is merely _destiny_," Mariko cackled.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'destiny'?" Blake asked, drawing Gambol Shroud.

"Don't you start with _me_, you bitch!" Nick growled, charging forward to attack Mariko.

Mariko simply raised Darkgnaw and swung it when Nick moved to strike, their keyblades clashing loudly.

After ducking low to avoid another overhead slash, Nick struck out at Mariko's legs, causing her to fall over. Before Nick could attack again, Maylin did the honors, leapfrogging over Nick and firing a powerful Firaga spell point-blank into Mariko's chest.

However, Mariko quickly recovered and stabbed Darkgnaw forward, sending a barrage of dark spikes towards the prone Maylin. Weiss acted quickly, switching Myrtenaster to its ice setting and casting a glyph that unleashed a cloud of ice spikes to counter the dark spikes, just as she had three years ago.

"Maybe try something more than just amateurish tricks," Weiss admonished. "You tried that and failed three years ago, so what made you think it would work _now_?"

Mariko simply smirked and dashed towards Weiss, but the heiress was ready, striking back with Myrtenaster to parry each blow from the demonic keyblade.

After dodging a diagonal slash, Weiss swung upwards swiftly, to put some space between her and Mariko. Haruka took advantage of this and moved to attack with Groundspike, a move where she jammed Divine Rose into the ground and twisted, causing a sharp, spiked spire of rock to erupt from underneath her target. This attack knocked Mariko into the air...

...but before Haruka could go back on the offensive, Mariko righted herself and dropped back to the ground, slamming Darkgnaw into the concrete and unleashing explosions of darkness that traveled along the ground and threw Haruka backwards.

"Oh, you're going to regret that!" Maylin shouted, stopping to cast Curaga on Haruka before casting Thundaga just above Mariko.

The dark warrior simply raised a barrier of darkness to defend herself, the lightning bolts actually being absorbed into the shield before being fired back at the trinity as dark bursts of energy.

Nick moved in while Mariko was distracted with her dark lightning and Formchanged into Second Form, the outward shockwave from the transformation actually pushing Mariko back, giving him all the room he needed to go on the offensive.

Nick knocked Mariko into the air with a Slapshot, then leaped after her to attack with an Aerial Finish, then finished off by landing on the ground and blasting Mariko backwards with a Ripple Drive.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you hope to best me," Mariko cackled as she leaped through the air and peppered the ground with a spray of dark lightning, forcing the trinity to scatter to avoid it.

As Nick leaped away to avoid another barrage of dark spikes, he felt something rustle around in his pocket. Reaching in to retrieve it, he saw that it was the Heartbinder that Himerish had granted him.

"Huh, almost forgot about this thing," Nick quipped. "I guess now would be a good time to use it."

"Oh, and what trinket are you calling on this time?" Mariko laughed.

Nick clutched the Coil Heartbinder to his chest, the charm radiating emerald electricity around him.

"I'm calling on my greatest strength," Nick proclaimed, focusing his power into the Coil Heartbinder. "My connections. _Give me strength!_"

**("Genesis" by Stereo Dive Foundation plays)**

A green circle of light formed on the ground in front of him, resembling something Nick was pretty sure he'd seen before.

The circle pulsed a couple times before someone leaped out of it, and now Nick knew where he'd seen that symbol before, because he recognized his new ally.

It was Mira Yurizaki, an android girl from the world of Tower 47 who had been created by her "father", Shido Yurizaki. Shido had discovered Dimension W, a fourth dimension axis that allowed the world to enjoy infinite energy as they'd always dreamed, only for him to be betrayed by New Tesla and forced to destroy himself with a strange device. Mira worked alongside her partner Kyoma Mabuchi to "recover" illegal Coils and hopefully find out what secrets New Tesla was hiding.

The only difference was that Mira's entire body was sparking with dimensional energy, no doubt due to the influence of the Heartbinder.

And it seemed Mira still recognized Nick, as she smiled brightly before throwing herself at Nick, hugging him tightly.

Nick had developed quite the crush on Mira during their adventure in Tower 47, relentlessly protecting her from the anti-Coil Kyoma and keeping her safe when they stormed the museum.

Mira spun around before shifting into a battle stance alongside Nick, who quickly noticed that his keyblade had transformed into World System, the keyblade that Mira had given him the keychain for.

_Maybe some Heartbinders, if they summon allies I've already met, allow me to use the keyblades I got from that world while they're being summoned,_ Nick thought, as he was sure he'd lost that keyblade along with most of his others when he'd been blindsided by the Demon Tide.

Deciding to shake those thoughts off for now, Nick and Mira prepared themselves as Mariko created a revolving barrier of large spikes of darkness that orbited her body like a demented hula hoop.

"Look out!" Ruby shouted as Mariko fired off three of those large dark spikes. Nick simply raised World System to block the attack, only for Mira to raise her hands and create a spherical barrier of green light around the both of them, stopping the spikes cold.

"Oh, you're in trouble now," Nick taunted, leaping forward to attack Mariko, only to see that his keyblade was now surrounded by a bright green energy blade, extending its reach at least three-fold. And, as Nick continued to hack away at Mariko and her barrier, he noticed that the dimensional blade was increasing the power of his hits as well.

Mariko let out a loud battle cry and projected a spiked dark barrier in front of Nick, only for Mira to grab hold of him and send them warping forward. The two of them briefly phased out of existence, only to reappear on the other side of the barrier.

Nick continued to attack with his enhanced keyblade until it began to glow, which most likely meant it was time for the finale.

"Let's end this," Nick proclaimed.

"Ready when you are!" Mira responded.

Mariko simply clutched her keyblade tightly. "You _really_ think I'll let you have that satisfaction?!" Mariko shouted, only to be stunned by a blast of lightning that Weiss had fired from Myrtenaster.

Nick and Mira jumped to both sides of the stunned Mariko and raised their hands. A large ring of energy shaped like Mira's particular Coil formed underneath Mariko.

"_Dimension W, Resonance Activate!"_ Nick and Mira shouted at the same time. The ring underneath Mariko unleashed a massive column of emerald energy upwards that ravaged Mariko while dragging it into the air.

When the eruption finally ended and Mariko fell back down to the ground, Nick rushed forward and struck with a Zantetsuken, an unbelievably strong forward chop. Mariko was still for a few seconds before falling to her knees, clutching her wounded chest.

Mira walked up and kissed Nick on the cheek before fading away, her spirit returning to the Coil Heartbinder. World System reverted back to the Kingdom Key.

"Once again, I must reiterate," Ruby quipped. "THAT WAS AWESOME! I've never seen you do something like _that_ before!"

"I guess we never really brought out our summons whenever we were here," Maylin stated.

"Wait, summons?" Yang asked. "There's _literally_ people inside of those charm things?"

"Well, sort of," Nick explained. "These charms that I find usually contained the soul of someone whose world was lost to the darkness, but their hearts were strong enough to survive as either a summon gem or a summon charm that I can channel my power into to summon them to fight by my side. These Heartbinders are probably different, considering this one summoned someone I _know_ is still around."

Mariko groaned as she attempted to stand up despite the damage she'd taken.

"Now what's your deal, freak show?" Nick growled. "Or do I have to keep beating an explanation out of you?!"

"Hmph... don't consider this our last meeting, boy," Mariko shot back, surrounding herself with a corridor of darkness before disappearing.

"Of _course_ you would, you freaking coward..." Nick sighed.

"Okay, since I think I need to ask," Ruby quipped. "How the heck is she still alive?! I was there when that giant door of light thing blew her to little bitty bits!"

"That's the real mystery here, Ruby," Haruka answered.

"You think she's time traveling or something?" Maylin wondered. "That's how that other Lily pulled her own plan off..."

"I don't care _how_ she's doing it," Nick growled. "I'm not letting that freak show walk all over us again..."

"How about we let it be for the moment?" Weiss answered. "I'm sure you can take her down again. After all, you're all so much stronger than you were three years ago."

Nick couldn't help but smile as the entire group approached the gateway to the Atlas military base, only for the gates to almost immediately close on them before they could get any closer.

"Come on, you guys, you didn't even bother hearing us out!" Yang shouted, grabbing two of the bars.

Two guards marched up to the gate in unison. "Our orders are clear!" Guard 1 proclaimed. "The Mistral-Atlas border is closed."

"So, please have a good day," Guard 2 proclaimed.

"But..." Yang started.

"_A good day!"_ both guards exclaimed.

"Well, nuts," Maylin groaned.

"Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm actually friends with Ironwood..." Qrow started.

"_General_ Ironwood!" both guards proclaimed.

"Okay, okay, _General _Ironwood, that's fine," Qrow retorted. "Listen, we've got Weiss Schnee with us, and we're trying to get her safely back home."

_That_ got the guards' attention, though they didn't notice Weiss' reluctant look upon hearing Qrow say that. Ruby stepped over and put her hand on Weiss' shoulder to calm her down.

"Approach," both guards stated. Weiss did so, allowing the guards to inspect her, most likely to make sure she was the real deal.

"Either one of them tries anything _remotely _pervy and they're getting a keyblade to the face," Maylin muttered under her breath.

Haruka giggled to herself, knowing exactly who Maylin was referring to.

After a couple seconds, the guards stood back at attention.

"Very well, you may speak with our commanding officer," Guard 1 proclaimed.

"We will fetch her posthaste!" Guard 2 proclaimed.

The two guards turned around and walked back into the base to inform said commanding officer.

"They were... kind of..." Blake sighed.

"Super weird?" Maylin quipped. "You're telling me."

"Hmmm..." Maria Calavera hummed.

"What's up?" Nick asked.

"Well, now that I think of it, I may know this commanding officer," Maria admitted.

"That's a good thing, right?" Ruby wondered. "If she's a friend of yours, maybe she'll be more willing to help us out."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call us _friends_," Maria admitted. "More like... enemies, really."

"Wait, _what_?" Oscar gasped.

"Yeah, I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked out in Atlas," Maria explained, gesturing to her cybernetic eyes. "Seriously, you bring cashews, _cashews_, onto _one_ flight, and you're stuck on the 'additional screening' list for the rest of your life!"

"Please tell me you're kidding," Qrow groaned.

"Come on, let's not give up hope," Maria teased. "Maybe she's kicked the bucket!"

Sadly, Maria's hopes were dashed when the gates reopened and the two guards returned, a short-statured elderly woman standing behind them.

"Introducing special operative Caroline Cordovin!" the guards exclaimed.

Maria and Cordovin stared each other down, hoping that either one would either leave or drop dead.

"Witch," Cordovin growled.

"She-devil," Maria shot back.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Nick quipped.

"I see you've chosen much larger contraband to smuggle this time, eh?" Cordovin laughed.

"Oh, Cordo, you know they say that time can change people, but I see you've definitely still got that stick right up your..." Maria retorted only to be interrupted by Ruby.

"Um, hello, M-Miss Cordovin," Ruby started. "My name is Ruby Rose, and I wanted to know if you'll hear us out about..."

"Sorry, Miss Rose, but I've already heard that story from your other little friends," Cordovin responded before glaring at Nora, Jaune, and Ren. "Speaking of which, why are you back here? Didn't I tell you to leave?!"

"And _I _told _you_ that we're not going to rest until you let us through!" Nora shouted, being held back from rushing by Jaune and Ren.

"You puny civilians are unable to comprehend the importance of our mission here in Argus, so allow me to explain slowly, with small words, so you simpletons can understand," Cordovin proclaimed, pointedly choosing to ignore Maylin's twitching hand. "This base, that relay tower, and the very _safety_ of Argus are all precious gifts from the _glorious_ kingdom of Atlas! And is my duty to protect those gifts, as I am the only one with the wit and tenacity for such a difficult task."

"Such wit!" Guard 1 exclaimed.

"Such tenacity!" Guard 2 proclaimed.

"This is creeping me out," Maylin sighed.

"Or maybe Atlas just wanted you as far away from them as possible," Maria taunted. She was clearly having fun pushing Cordovin's buttons.

"You're exactly like the rest of these Argus _ingrates_!" Cordovin shouted. "This city wouldn't even _exist _without our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return?! The entire world putting a knife to our throats!"

"Hey, stop acting like everyone's blaming _you_ for the Fall of Beacon," Maylin shot back.

"We know your kingdom had nothing to do with it," Ruby responded. "We were there, after all."

"No one's happy about the borders or the embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried that it could happen again," Weiss continued.

"The general is no coward!" Cordovin exclaimed. "Atlas is strong. If all of the kingdoms intend to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"

"Atlas will prevail!" both guards exclaimed.

"Is that _seriously_ necessary?" Haruka groaned.

"Either way," Cordovin proclaimed. "If Miss Schnee has come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then the Atlas military will escort her home. However, Atlas will _not_ be responsible for her 'friends' of... questionable character."

Cordovin had glanced in Blake's direction on that last line, and that finally forced Maylin into action, summoning Counterpoint and aiming it straight for Cordovin.

"What was _that_ crack supposed to mean, you old bag?" Maylin growled.

"It means we're done here," Cordovin stated as the gates once again closed, leaving the entire group outside.

"Well... your face looks like a big, dumb _boot_!" Nora shouted.

"Way to show 'em, Nora," Nick sighed.

"I... I don't..." Weiss started, only for Ruby to step over and hug her tightly.

"Weiss, remember what I said to you?" Ruby stated. "We're not going to leave your side for even a second. We'll get to Atlas one way or another. Together."

Weiss just nodded, kissing Ruby on the cheek and causing the reaper to blush.

"Okay, not to break up the happy lovey-dovey stuff, but what's the plan now?" Maylin asked, letting Counterpoint vanish for the moment.

"What plan?" Qrow growled. "Our plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink."

"Wait, Uncle Qrow, I really think we should come up with something... together," Ruby stated, only to trail off when Qrow simply walked away, ignoring everything Ruby had just said.

"Seriously, what's his beef?" Haruka wondered. "It's not our fault we couldn't get through."

"Yeah, if he's gonna be a big ol' jerky face, then we can just make a new plan without him," Nora quipped. "After all, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do, right?"

At the mention of the former headmaster of Beacon, Oscar looked down with a sad expression, and Weiss shared troubled looks with Blake and Yang.

"What is it?" Ren wondered.

The trinity slowly tensed up at this, knowing that this was most likely the one thing that Team RWBY had left out of their explanation of what had transpired since their last visit to Remnant.

"Why do I get this feeling that we're not gonna like what we're about to hear?" Nick asked nobody in particular.

And Nick's suspicions were right on the money, as after Team RWBY had finished explaining what Jinn had told them about the history of Ozpin and Salem back at Saphron's house, Jaune responded by punching a nearby wall, leaving a rather large crack in it.

"Everything we did was for _nothing_!" Jaune growled.

"That's not true, Jaune," Blake responded.

"Really? Because it sure sounds like it," Nora sighed, lacking her usual energy.

"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to fight back?" Ren asked. Complete silence met him.

"Wow, great freakin' plan, you guys," Jaune proclaimed.

"Hold on a second, didn't Jinn say '_you_ can't' when Ozpin asked how to defeat Salem?" Haruka replied. "Maybe she was just saying that Ozpin _himself_ couldn't permanently get rid of her."

"Yeah, think about all these nutballs and whackjobs that have been after Ruby," Maylin continued. "Maybe her silver eyes could be the key, and that's why they're all after her."

"Look, I know that none of this is great, but we're not the bad guys here," Oscar stated.

Jaune spun around and glared at Oscar, causing Oscar to take a step back from the unbridled hostility Jaune was exuding.

"Are we _sure_ about that?" Jaune replied. "He's in _your_ head, isn't he? Did you already know all of this?!"

"Jaune, he had no idea!" Weiss shouted, though Jaune ignored her and reached out to grab Oscar by his shirt collar and smash him into the wall he'd just punched.

"How much longer can we even trust you?!" Jaune screamed. "How do we even know you're actually _you_ right now?! What if we've been talking to that damn _liar_ this whole time?!"

"Jaune, stop it!" Ruby exclaimed.

Jaune raised his free hand back, clenching it into a fist. _"ANSWER ME, GODDAMN YOU!"_

Jaune lashed out to punch Oscar in the face, only for Nick to summon his keyblade and swing it downward to knock Jaune's fist away just in time. Letting go of Oscar, Jaune glared towards the group, only to see that Nick, Maylin, and Haruka were all pointing their keyblades straight for him.

"Knock it the _hell _off, Jaune," Nick proclaimed. "Oscar had _nothing _to do with _any of this_."

"He's just as upset as everyone else was," Haruka continued. "You really think he _asked_ for this?"

"And consider the pressure Oscar's under, having one of the most legendary people on Remnant basically living in his head," Maylin stated. "We don't need you _adding_ to that pressure by trying to slug him for something that's _Ozpin's_ fault, _not Oscar's._"

Jaune glanced back at Oscar, who was cowering in fear, and that was all it took for Jaune's anger to immediately dissolve. Muttering a muffled apology, Jaune quickly made his way upstairs to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Yang asked.

"I think it'd be for the best if we had some time to ourselves," Ren sighed, and the rest of Team RNJR departed for their rooms, leaving Team RWBY, Oscar, and the trinity in the room.

"He's got a point, you know," Nick stated. "We probably just need some time to clear our heads, so we can think of something to do without getting overwhelmed by all this nonsense."

"W-wait, what are you guys gonna do?" Ruby asked.

Nick slung the Kingdom Key on his shoulder. "Well... what we do best, Ruby, smashing some Heartless," Nick answered.

"Did you... did any of you ever feel like you just wanted to give up?" Blake asked. "Like... you felt it was hopeless?"

"Yes, I have," Nick answered instantly. He knew just the moment that represented Blake's query.

Nick's first visit to the Blue Sky Kingdom, when Marie was still being manipulated by the villain's council. It had only taken a few seconds for Marie to defeat Haruka and Maylin, destroying all of their keyblades in the process.

"How did you make it through, then?" Oscar asked.

At that question, Nick couldn't help but smile. "Because I have some of the greatest friends I've ever had the privilege of _calling_ my friends," Nick answered. "When I was at my lowest, thinking that I couldn't go any further because I lost the weapon I'd used to _get_ that far, when I lost my two best friends to my own sister, my _actual summons_ at the time came out to encourage me and get me back on my feet."

"It's like the Oracle said, Nick, you've got a natural gift for connecting with others," Maylin stated. "And sometimes, we wanna pay back that connection."

"We'll be back in, oh, say, fifteen minutes or so," Haruka stated. "We're just gonna do a loop around the city and whack some Heartless."

With that, the trinity departed, leaving Team RWBY alone with their thoughts.

Ruby turned towards the door to the backyard, hoping to get in contact with Qrow. Seriously, what was his deal?

* * *

Nick leapfrogged off of Maylin's shoulders to achieve the required height to slash at an Air Soldier that was trying to be tricky, while Maylin threw spells out to strike the Jewel Princesses, basically much smaller versions of the Jewel Sorceress they had fought earlier in the day but without the staff.

"Yeah, suck my magic, skirt chasers!" Maylin laughed, blasting another Jewel Princess with a Thundaga from above.

"Maylin, we've got Nobodies incoming!" Haruka shouted as a group of Dusks came slithering towards them, flanked by a seemingly new type of Nobody that resembled one of those large statues seen outside famous places, with thick, tree trunk-like legs and feet and tiny arms topped off with what appeared to be parts of a large shield.

"Okay, what's the new kid in town gonna do?" Nick quipped after slicing another Jewel Princess in half and turning to face the Nobodies.

As Maylin proceeded to chop through the Dusks as they leaped towards her, the new Nobody, the Sentinel, stood its ground and placed its hands together, uniting its shield pieces to create a shield in front of itself. Maylin swung Counterpoint towards the shield, hoping to break it quickly, only for her keyblade to bounce off harmlessly. The three Sentinels marched into a wall formation, their shields up.

"Okay, now you're just annoying me," Maylin quipped, moving to flank them from behind, only for the Sentinels to turn around with Maylin, preventing her from reaching their vulnerable behinds. "Oh, _come on_ with this bunk!"

"It seems like we've either gotta get behind them _real_ quick-like, or we've gotta use stronger attacks to break their shields," Nick noted. "And I think I've got just the thing, too. _Formchange: Second Form_!"

Once Nick had Formchanged, he ran towards the Sentinel and attacked. As expected, his normal swings merely bounced off of the shields, but when he attacked with an Explosion, the blast penetrated the shield, forcing it apart and leaving the Sentinel's body wide open for Nick to lunge forward with a Stride Break and destroy it.

"There we go!" Nick shouted.

Haruka steadied herself as another pair of Sentinels approached her, wiggling their shields as if daring her to approach.

"Yeah, I don't think so, boys," Haruka quipped, the blade of Divine Rose beginning to glow with a violet hue. _"Formchange: Rose Whip!"_

Haruka swung Divine Rose around her until it transformed into a long whip resembling a rose stem, complete with thorns lining the whip, and a fully-bloomed rose at the end.

"Dance for me!" Haruka laughed, lashing out with the whip in a way that reminded Maylin of Iris Heart. The Rose Whip cracked out and struck the shields, actually doing damage to them in the process. This emboldened Haruka to continue lashing out with the Rose Whip in large, spiraling strikes before taking a step back, then lunging forward with a thousand lashes-style combo finisher that broke the shields of the Sentinels, leaving them defenseless.

Maylin acted quickly while the Sentinels were distracted, getting in close and sending them skyward with a Magic Hour so Nick could finish them off with a jumping spin attack.

"And that's the end of them," Haruka giggled, releasing her Formchange.

"I kinda wished there were more of them, honestly," Maylin admitted. "I wanted to come up with a cool Formchange and smack them silly!"

"On to the more important question," Nick stated. "Why are there _Nobodies_ still running around? I thought Organization XIII had been controlling them, and we wrecked every single one of those hoods."

"Guess they're more of an independent now," Haruka answered. "And at least it seems like there's a lot less of them compared to the Heartless right now."

"That's a good thing," Maylin quipped as the trinity began to walk down the nearby street. "We've already got enough on our plates dealing with the Heartless."

Haruka glanced towards the nearby park they were passing by when they noticed Nora and Ren walking up to Jaune, holding hot drinks in their hands. Haruka looked up, towards whatever Jaune was standing front of, and gasped when she realized it was a statue of Pyrrha Nikos, a member of Team JNPR who had perished by Cinder's hand during the Battle of Beacon.

"Jaune, hey, why did you..." Nora started, only to gasp in shock when she and Ren noticed the statue as well.

"I'm... I'm really sorry, you guys. I've been such a terrible leader and friend... I just..." Jaune stated, but his friends weren't having any of that.

"Jaune, you need to stop beating yourself up," Ren proclaimed.

"We know what you said to Cinder, back at Haven," Nora continued, leaning over to hug Jaune. "You're just not being fair to yourself, that's all. We love you, just like we loved Pyrrha. We're teammates, heck, we're more than teammates, we're practically _family_ by now."

"We just don't want to lose you, too," Ren admitted. "We don't want to lose _anyone _else."

Jaune looked back up at Pyrrha's statue, pondering the words of his friend as he did so.

"I think... she probably _knew_ she wasn't going to win," Jaune admitted. "That she probably wouldn't walk away from that fight with her life. But... I think she also knew that she was the only one who could _try_."

"So she did," Ren answered.

"And maybe we should, too," Nora stated. "Pyrrha may not be by our side anymore, but we're going to fight like she _is_."

"I'm sure she _will_ be, in some strange way," Jaune replied.

"We should probably check in at the house," Ren stated.

The trio turned around to return to Saphron's house, only to notice the trinity standing there.

"Um... how long have you three been standing there?" Nora asked.

"A couple minutes," Maylin answered. "We didn't want to intrude on the moment."

"Honestly, we feel really bad that we weren't there to help," Haruka stated. "We really felt like we could have changed the tide of that fight if we'd been there..."

"Hey, we know you can't always be to every single world you've been to," Ren answered. "Such is the life of world travelers like yourselves, right?"

"I guess all we can do now is keep on fighting until we can finally bring Cinder down for what she did," Nick stated.

"Hey, how about we get back to Saphron's house before we all catch a cold?" Jaune asked.

"Good idea," Maylin replied.

* * *

Ruby could only sigh in annoyance at the sight before her.

"I've _never_ seen him this bad," Yang groaned. Ruby could only sigh in disappointment at the sight of a passed out Qrow flopped on the stairs of a random house.

"Come on, let's just get him up," Ruby groaned as she and Yang grabbed Qrow's arms so they could haul him to his feet.

"Ugh..." Qrow groans, rubbing his eyes. "Wait, why am I on the stairs?"

"Probably because no one's home, Uncle Qrow," Ruby quipped. "We've been out practically all night looking for Oscar."

"Wait, Oscar?" Qrow wondered.

At the sounds of footsteps, Ruby looked behind them to see Jaune, Nora and Ren approaching them, with Nick, Maylin, and Haruka following closely behind them. Flanking the two groups were Saphron and Terra, with Terra holding Adrian.

"I'm sure this would look _great_ to the neighbors," Terra sarcastically quipped, only for Saphron to lightly jab her with her elbow.

"Any luck?" Ren asked.

"Not here," Blake responded. "How about you?"

"Don't worry, we're not going to Atlas without him," Jaune proclaimed.

"We?" Ruby repeated, to which Nora, Jaune, and Ren smiled at each other.

Jaune looked over at Saphron, a confident smirk on his face. "Sorry we're not gonna be staying," Jaune stated.

"Oh, you're not sorry," Saphron teased.

"Come on, let's get out of the cold," Terra responded.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Nick asked. "I think we skipped a few chapters."

As if answering Nick's question, the door to Saphron's house opened up, and everyone gasped in shock when they saw who had opened the door.

"I was wondering when you'd get back, you guys," Oscar stated, now wearing a fancy green coat over his usual outfit.

The trinity wisely stepped to the side as the seven students screamed in joy before literally lunging forward to tackle hug Oscar back into the house.

"Good thing we stepped aside, huh?" Nick quipped. "I can't begin to count all the times you tackled _me_, Maylin."

Maylin just giggled as the trinity followed their friends into the house.

"You had us worried sick, Oscar!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Are you doing okay?" Ruby asked.

"And what are you _wearing_?" Nora asked with a big grin.

Terra smelled something delicious, glancing towards the kitchen. "Oh, is something cooking?" Terra asked.

"Um, yeah it is," Oscar answered. "I figured you guys would appreciate a nice, hot meal after spending all day... looking for _me_, apparently."

Jaune figured it was up to him to get the ball rolling. "Honestly, it's my fault we were out there looking for you," Jaune sighed. "Oscar, I am _so sorry_ for what I said and... what I almost did. What I said was _way_ out of line, and..."

"Don't worry about it," Oscar replied. "To be frank, I've been scared of pretty much the same things you all have been these past few days. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be me, but... I did some thinking, and I _do_ know that I want to do whatever I can to help you all with whatever time I have left."

"That's good," Jaune admitted. "This team just isn't the same without you, Oscar."

Everyone smiled at the exchange, until Ruby caught a glimpse of Qrow walking up the nearby stairs. "Where are you going _now_?" Ruby proclaimed, sounding like she was _done_ with Qrow's nonsense.

"Don't want to rain on your celebration," Qrow groaned.

"Look, you've been gone all day," Ruby shot back. "Why don't you just sit with us?"

Qrow just sighed before turning around again. "Look, Ruby, I'm glad that you kids worked out... whatever that crap was," Qrow answered. "But the truth of the matter is, we're not any closer to Atlas than we were yesterday."

"Actually, I might have an idea," Jaune admitted. "But it's kind of a... 'no turning back' sort of idea."

"Let's hear it," Ruby quipped.

"Well, with Cordovin on watch, only Atlas airships would have the clearance to leave for Solitas," Jaune explained. "So... we... um... _steal _an Atlas airship."

Naturally, most of the group was shocked by Jaune's brazen suggestion.

"That's not just breaking the law," Weiss stated. "That's _definitely_ worse."

"How would we even get onto the airfield?" Yang asked.

"Um, I haven't figured that part out just yet," Jaune laughed.

"Hey, we really don't have many sensible alternatives, do we?" Maylin replied. "After all, desperate times call for desperate measures, don't they?"

"Okay, you know what? All of you need to _stop_!" Qrow growled. "If this thing goes south, we're not going to be able to just fight our way out of it. This is the freaking _Atlas military_ we're talking about. For all of your sakes, just drop this dumb plan, all right?"

"I want to hear him out," Ruby shot back.

"Ruby, listen..."

"I WANT TO HEAR HIM OUT," Ruby near-shouted, shocking Qrow into complete silence. "I understand that you're trying to protect us, that you're worried we can't pull it off, but frankly, right now, _I don't really care what you think._ Just because _you _don't have any ideas, doesn't mean we're out of options! Ozpin hasn't been here to guide us, but we've still made it this far anyway! We've been in all kinds of trouble before, but we didn't need an adult to save us or tell us what we had to do. We just did it _our_ way! And I say we _do _it _our_ way. And if you think you can keep up with us 'kids'... we'd be happy to have you."

Maria couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like you didn't give _her_ enough credit, either," Maria stated.

"All right, what's the plan, guys?" Nick proclaimed. "Looks like it's time for a heist."

"Ooh, this is the best part of the heist movies, the actual heist itself!" Maylin giggled. "Oh, I can't wait!"

* * *

The next day, the group had returned to the Atlas military base to enact their plan. Weiss could be seen walking alongside Cordovin and Saphron (once again holding Adrian), dragging a large luggage case behind her while being escorted by the two guards.

"I was relieved to hear that you came to your senses, Miss Schnee," Cordovin proclaimed. "Many of us here in Atlas were devastated when we heard you would be attending... _Beacon Academy_."

The disdainful way that Cordovin had mentioned Beacon Academy nearly made Maylin jump out of her hiding spot and zap Cordovin with a Thunder spell.

"Knowing that you'll be coming back home to Atlas just warms my old heart," Cordovin gasped dramatically.

"Could she be any _more_ of an old ham?" Maylin quipped from her hiding spot.

"Shush, Maylin, we don't want to be discovered just yet," Haruka answered.

"I guess I figured... it was just time to get my act together, return to my roots," Weiss answered, hoping Cordovin couldn't hear the mixture of annoyed and frustrated in her voice.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you following in your sister's footsteps," Cordovin proclaimed. "I'm going to send two of my best guards to escort you home personally. Make sure that General Ironwood hearts that last part."

With a not-so-subtle wink, Cordovin walked away, leaving the two Nubuck guards to assist Weiss.

"Okay, Haruka, remind me again why we're _here_ instead of with the others?" Maylin asked while watching the guards try to heave Weiss' rather heavy luggage.

"We're making sure that nothing goes wrong on this end thanks to the Heartless," Haruka responded. "I'm sure Nick can handle himself with the others. He's never steered us wrong before, has he?"

As Maylin and Haruka watched Saphron and Adrian create a distraction to get the guards off of Weiss' back, Maylin realized something.

"Hey, as long as we're here, why don't we see if we can find any of those pure hearts that the Oracle mentioned?" Maylin asked.

"Yeah, I never thought of that until now," Haruka quipped. "We have no idea where these pure hearts that Meter needs are."

"That was close," Weiss sighed before getting a call on her earpiece from Ruby.

"Is everything okay up there?" Ruby's voice asked.

"Call me _heavy_, you stupid..." Maria's voice resounded from within the suitcase. "That's all muscle! Just let me at 'em, I'll show them a thing or two about _heavy_..."

"We made it on board, Ruby," Weiss answered.

While all of this was transpiring, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Oscar, Qrow, and Nick were waiting out by the cliffside that separated the forest from the ocean.

"All right, we're gonna start watching our scrolls," Ruby stated to the rest of the group. "The _instant_ Weiss is our of the comm tower's range, that also means she out of the radar's range."

"And that's where Blake steps in," Yang quipped to her scroll. She and Blake were driving the Bumblebee towards the radar array tower. "We're almost to the drop off point."

"_Remember two things, okay?"_ Terra's voice resounded on Yang's scroll. _"The radar box is separate from the rest of the communications equipment, so if you disconnect it the right way like I told you, it won't take out comms for the whole city. And second, this conversation never happened, got it?"_

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time I've disabled Atlas security," Blake laughed, even though Terra didn't look amused.

Once the Bumblebee had parked at the specified point, Blake immediately hopped off.

"Are you sure I shouldn't come with you?" Yang asked. "I have no idea what may be lurking out there."

"More intruders means we're more likely to be spotted," Blake answered. "Besides, stealth isn't exactly your strong suit..."

Blake stuttered under the glare Yang was giving her. "I-I mean, you're still great, and I'll hurry back, and..."

Yang, in response, just smiled as she leaned over to hug Blake. "Just go, silly," Yang teased.

Blake smiled back at Yang before dashing into the forest.

"I'm heading in on foot," Blake stated into her scroll. "This shouldn't take too long."

"Yes! The plan's working!" Jaune exclaimed, only to settle down when he noticed Nora and Ren giving him funny looks. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I-I mean, um... roger that."

Nora and Ren just rolled their eyes at their leader's silliness. Nick watched with amusement, his right hand out just in case he needed to summon his keyblade.

After a few minutes, Ruby looked up to the group when she saw Weiss' signal vanish from her scroll.

"All right, you guys, this is it," Ruby proclaimed before tapping her earpiece. "Blake, it's showtime."

No response came.

"Blake? Can you read me?" Ruby asked, starting to grow concerned. "Yang, what's going on?"

"Not sure," Yang answered, glancing towards the relay tower, then back to her scroll, only to see Weiss' signal returning.

"_Ruby, we're in trouble,"_ Weiss' voice resounded. _"Cordovin is on to us, and, unfortunately, Maria is __**not**__ helping!"_

A crunching sound could now be heard over the scroll.

"Is... is she eating cashews?" Nick though. "Seriously, lady?"

"_You hear that, Cordo?!"_ Maria exclaimed. _"That's the sound of me frankly not giving a damn!"_

"_Guys, why is the radar still up?!"_ Weiss exclaimed.

"We have no clue! Blake's not responding!" Ruby answered. "What do we do now?!"

"_Keep the ship in one piece,"_ Yang stated as she revved up the Bumblebee and took off to find Blake.

Nick suddenly sensed a strange darkness from far off. It didn't seem too strong in terms of strength, but very foul and wretched, and the mere thought of such a darkness unnerved Nick something fierce.

_That can't be good,_ Nick thought. _If whoever that is gets to Blake, she might be in trouble._

His mind made up, Nick summoned Starlight to his hands and began racing down the nearby pathway.

"Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Nora asked.

"I just felt a _really_ foul darkness over that-a-way, by the relay tower," Nick answered. "Whatever it is, it's _not_ a good sign. Can the rest of you handle things here?"

"As best as we can," Ruby proclaimed, readying Crescent Rose for a battle.

Nick saluted to his friends, then rushed off through the forest to hopefully intercept this strange entity.

_It felt like pure darkness, without any light to speak of,_ Nick thought as he continued to run, cutting through random Heartless on his way there. _Wait, wait... pure darkness, no light. Could that be one of the hearts the Dark Mother's trying to find?!_

Hoping he'd make it in time, Nick quickened his pace, only to stop when he saw Blake in the middle of the forest, facing down a red-haired man with a blindfold over his eyes.

"Why did you have to come into my life and _ruin everything_?!" Adam shouted, waving his katana, Wilt, and his rifle, Blush, towards Blake.

"You're the one who's been stalking me all over Anima!" Blake shot back. "I don't want _anything _to do with your life anymore."

That was enough to goad Adam into attacking Blake, their blades clashing again and again even as Blake leapt to the top of a nearby platform.

Nick followed the fight as best he could, silently gauging when the best time to step in would be, as from what Blake had told him about Adam, this fight seemed very personal.

After crashing back down through some tree branches during the fight, Blake and Adam once again locked eyes with each other.

"Just let go of the past, Adam," Blake proclaimed. "Do it for yourself if nothing else."

"You mean just _forget _about _everything_?!" Adam shouted. "Is that what you did, just threw all of the memories away?! I already let you go once, Blake, and I'm _never_ going to make _that_ mistake again."

The two combatants rushed each other, their blades clashing again and again until Blake heard the distant sound of an explosion from behind her. Taking her chance, Blake used Gambol Shroud to grapple through the trees, towards a safer place to fight.

"Is running _all_ you know how to do?!" Adam growled before giving chase.

Nick charged after Adam, having felt that same foul darkness coming from him and realizing he was the source of it. _Has he really fallen that far into the darkness?_ Nick thought. _It feels like he __**willingly**__ gave himself to the darkness, and that's a scary thought._

The aerial battle continued as Blake continued to leap across the tree branches to evade Adam's wild attacks until Adam managed to catch up and attack, though Wilt only sliced Blake's trench coat. Nick kept up his pursuit, staying slightly behind the battle so that Adam wouldn't notice him, focused on Blake as he was, until they all came out of the forest and onto a large, natural stone bridge in front of a waterfall.

Deciding to hold off just a little longer, as he still had the element of surprise on his side, Nick watched Blake battle her former boyfriend and mentor, using her Semblance to evade the trickier slashes, until Adam caught Blake's wrist while blocking her katana with the barrel of Blush.

"You know, I wouldn't have to do this to you if you would just _behave_ for once in your life!" Adam growled, flinging Blake's cleaver away and smashing her across the head with Wilt's hilt, knocking her back several feet.

"But you're _selfish_!" Adam shouted, kicking Blake in the side multiple times for each word he emphasized. "You're a _coward_! You're a _filthy liar_!"

Blake, however, simply picked herself up despite the vicious attacks. "You're delusional," Blake proclaimed.

Adam let out a mighty bellow of rage before activating his own Semblance and swinging Wilt so hard and fast that when Blake brought her katana up to defend herself, Wilt's blade snapped it cleanly into two pieces, said pieces clattering away from Blake.

_And __**that's**__ my cue to get moving,_ Nick thought, raising his keyblade and charging in to join the battle.

Adam stopped approaching Blake so he could remove the blindfold that was covering his eyes. Blake gasped in shock when she noticed that his left eye was viciously scarred by a brand labeled "SDC", no doubt the Schnee Dust Company.

"People hurt me long before I met you," Adam stated. "Many different people, in many different ways, but none of them hurt me quite like you did. You didn't leave a scar, though. You left me alone. So, how about you tell me, Blake? How does it feel to know that you're helpless and _alone_?"

Adam took one last step towards Blake, letting out a loud cry of fury as he stabbed Wilt towards Blake's abdomen, only for Nick to plant himself firmly in front of Blake and slash Starlight upwards to counter the strike.

"W-what?!" Adam shouted, giving Nick the opening to push Adam backwards with his new technique, Speed Slash, a flurry of three lightning-quick spinning attacks, and put some space between them.

"She's not alone," Nick proclaimed. _"HEAL!"_

A bubble of green energy surrounded Blake, healing the wounds that Adam had inflicted on her and allowing her to stand up again.

"Thanks for the assist, Nick," Blake stated.

"Hope I didn't arrive too late," Nick quipped.

"I'd say you're just in time," Blake replied.

Nick readied his keyblade for a fight. "Let's mess him up."

Adam roared loudly before charging towards Blake, aiming Wilt for her neck, only for Nick to dash over, duck under the slash even as Blake bent backwards to avoid it, and smashed the pointy end of Starlight into Adam's stomach. This attack dazed Adam enough for Nick to go on the offensive, landing four clean hits before leaping into the air and coming down with a Blitz-style attack that knocked Adam back towards the bridge.

"How about you stop interfering, _boy_?!" Adam shouted. "This is between me and her!"

"Sorry, but even if it's not my business, when someone tries to hurt my _friends_, it _becomes _my business!" Nick shot back, Starlight's blade glowing brightly. _"Formchange: Second Form S!"_

Adam attempted to slice Nick apart with an overhead strike, only to be pushed back by the burst of energy from Nick's Formchange, giving Nick all the time he needed to go on the attack once again.

"Be careful, Nick!" Blake shouted as she watched Nick strike out at Adam, only for him to block most of his regular swings. "His Semblance lets him absorb energy through his sword, store it up, and send it back whenever he wants!"

"Wait, he gets to dish out damage without even feeling it?" Nick exclaimed. "Man, that's cheap."

Adam blocked another overhead slash, but Nick retaliated with a Ripple Drive that sent Adam into the air, allowing Nick to channel his accumulated energy for the finisher.

"Block _this, _bitch! _Ancient Light!_" Nick shouted, thrusting Starlight above him and summoning five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged Adam, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging Adam's body and forcing him back to the ground.

Blake could suddenly hear the sound of a motorcycle approaching rapidly, and signaled to Nick to move.

"Don't tell me you cowards are fleeing!" Adam taunted.

"Nope," Nick shot back.

"Just priming our advantage," Blake teased.

Before Adam could ask what they were talking about, Yang barreled off of the nearby cliff before hurling the Bumblebee straight into Adam's body, sending him into a tumble even as the Bumblebee fell into the river below.

Yang skidded to a stop in front of Blake, staring down Adam as he picked himself back up.

"You again," Adam growled.

"It's okay, Blake, you just catch your breath for a second," Yang stated. "I can hold this freak off."

Nick joined them as well, raising Starlight into a battle stance. "Room for one more?" Nick teased.

"Always," Yang replied before activating the shotgun on her prosthetic arm.

"It's good to know that you remember we have some... unfinished business to conduct," Adam proclaimed.

_His heart... I can actually feel his heart,_ Nick thought. _Is that because it's practically overflowing with darkness? That's not any sort of good, which means we need to end this quickly._

Adam made the first move, delivering a flurry of quick slashes that pushed Yang back a few feet, only for Yang to strike back, landing a few punches on Adam's stomach and even one across his head.

Yang lashed out to push Adam back before firing a few shots at him that were quickly blocked by Wilt. Yang ducked and weaved around each slash to punch Wilt's blade, only for Adam to shove her back towards Blake and ready his Semblance, swinging hard enough to unleash a blood-red energy blade that sliced through the air and pushed Yang back towards the edge of the bridge.

When the blast faded, Yang was still standing, the only damage being a few scratches on her prosthetic arm.

"Leave us _alone_," Yang growled. "This is your last chance."

"Do you really believe that?" Adam taunted, noticing that Yang's left arm was trembling slightly. "Or are you just trying to scare me off you don't get yourself killed trying to protect her?"

Nick raised Starlight, ready to attack again, but Blake stepped up and took Yang's hand into her own.

"She's not protecting me, Adam, and I'm not protecting her," Blake proclaimed. "We're protecting _each other_."

Blake and Yang smiled at each other before glaring back at Adam. Nick took a stance behind them, Starlight at the ready.

"You knew you couldn't win two on one back at Haven, you know," Adam taunted. "What makes you so sure you're going to walk away from _this_ one with your lives?"

"I don't have a choice, Adam," Blake shot back. "I have people who _actually _care about me, and I made a promise that I'd never leave them behind ever again. So there's no way I can die now."

Yang couldn't help but smile at that.

"You know, _she_ made a promise to me once, that she'd always be at my side," Adam growled. "Look at how well _that_ held up."

"Did she make that promise to _you_?" Yang shot back. "Or was it to the person you were just _pretending_ to be?"

Adam didn't have a rebuttal for that, opting to just stay silent.

"So I wasn't good enough for you, is _that_ it?" Adam stated.

"You know it's more than just that," Blake responded.

"You've obviously made your choice," Adam proclaimed. "And I've made mine."

With that, Adam rushed his opponents once again to resume the battle. Blake and Yang coordinated to attack Adam from both sides while Nick flanked Adam with rapid keyblade strikes until Adam spun Wilt around him to push all three attackers away.

Blake grabbed the broken katana of Gambol Shroud and tossed it for Adam, only for him to deflect it back at her. Yang quickly grabbed Gambol Shroud's pistol and used the ribbon to swing Blake around so she could attack with her cleaver, only for Adam to kick her backwards into the cliffside of the waterfall, depleting the last of her Aura in the process.

Blake immediately grabbed onto the edge of the stone bridge, hanging on for dear life.

"Blake!" Yang shouted.

"Oh, _now_ you're asking for it," Nick growled, brandishing Starlight.

"Moment of truth, Yang," Adam laughed. "Do you think you're faster than you were at Beacon?"

Yang trembled slightly at this, causing Adam to crack a grin.

"Didn't think so," Adam proclaimed, launching himself forward to slash at Yang, even though Nick raised Starlight to block the attack and strike back with another Speed Slash.

"Just give it up, stalker boy," Nick taunted. "You're seriously outclassed here."

"Oh, is _that_ right?!" Adam bellowed. "Your Aura's gotta be running low by this point, and you know it."

Nick said nothing, as Adam obviously didn't know that Nick didn't have Aura, not being from Remnant, but decided to stay silent to keep an advantage.

"Come on and hit me already!" Adam shouted, leaping over Nick and rushing for Yang, who swiftly dodged each slash Adam made. "What in god's name does she even _see_ in you?! You're just a filthy _coward_, same as her!"

Adam unleashed another Moonslice from Wilt that Yang couldn't possibly dodge at such close range, failing to notice that Yang's eyes had just turned a fierce shade of red. The Moonslice connected with Yang, kicking up a thick cloud of dust around her.

Hoping to end this with just one more attack, Adam rushed forward, parrying another keyblade strike from Nick, and swung his sword down, intent on bisecting Yang...

...only for Yang to catch the sword with her prosthetic hand, her hair glowing brightly.

"Gotcha," Yang quipped, lashing out with her other hand and punching Adam in the stomach so hard that he went flying back without his weapon. The instant Adam landed on the ground, his body jerked with red sparks, indicating his Aura had been completely drained by that last attack.

Despite this, Adam picked himself up, ready to continue fighting, only to realize too late that Yang still had his sword.

"I might not be faster than you," Yang admitted, her own Aura depleted. "But I'm _smarter_ than you."

Yang tossed Wilt over the bridge and into the lake below. Adam frantically chased after his weapon, only for Blake to jump back onto the bridge and uppercut Adam's chin, causing him to stumble backwards.

While Adam was dazed, Blake and Yang dashed over to retrieve the broken pieces of Gambol Shroud's katana. Adam attempted one last-ditch attack, only to be swatted aside by Nick, giving Blake and Yang all the time they needed to impale Adam from both sides with the pieces of Gambol Shroud.

Adam looked down at his bleeding chest in disbelief as Blake and Yang savagely yanked their blades out, spilling Adam's blood all over the ground. Adam stumbled toward the edge of the bridge, falling to his knees. He whispered Blake's name one last time before his eyes rolled back and he slumped forward, the last of his life draining away as he fell off the bridge and into the water below, his body hitting the cliffside with a sickening crunch for good measure.

_Ouch_, Nick thought. _Couldn't have happened to a better asshole, honestly._

Blake fell to her knees, the stress of the chase and battle finally catching up to her and causing her to start crying. Yang was over there in a flash to hug her partner tightly.

"I... I'm not going to break my promise," Blake sobbed, returning Yang's embrace. "I swear..."

"I know you won't," Yang responded, gently rubbing Blake's back.

Nick opted to just stay in his spot and let the girls have their moment.

"Yang... I wanted to apologize to you _so badly_," Blake admitted.

"For what?" Yang asked.

"For leaving you behind at the Fall of Beacon," Blake answered. "I didn't _want_ to leave, but I was afraid Adam was going to hurt you even worse if I stayed... I didn't want you to be a target because of my mistakes..."

To Blake's surprise, Yang simply leaned over and kissed Blake on the cheek, causing her to blush brightly.

"Too many people have left my life, honestly," Yang proclaimed. "But you know what the difference is with _you_, Blake? ...you _came back_. That's enough for me."

Nick smiled, happy that the two of them had fully reconciled their issues since the fall of Beacon.

"_NICK, YOU NEED TO GET OFF YOUR KEESTER AND HIGH-TAIL IT BACK TO THE CLIFFSIDE __**ON THE FRACKIN' DOUBLE**__!"_ Maylin's voice screeched through Blake's earpiece, jolting the two girls to their feet.

"Holy _crap_, Maylin, what's with the ear-piercing shouts?" Nick responded.

"_Let's just say that in fighting off Cordovin's giant robot, we may have invited an even __**bigger**__ problem to Argus,"_ Haruka's voice resounded. _"If Blake and Yang are with you, bring them with. This problem may require some triple threats."_

"We're on our way," Blake answered. "This sounds bad, you guys."

"From Maylin's screeching, it must be," Nick quipped. "Let's move."

The trio immediately raced back through the forest, completely unaware that a black heart was floating up from the lake that Adam's corpse had fallen into, eventually floating into Mariko Kusumi's hands.

"You poor, simple-minded fool," Mariko cackled. "You played _right_ into our hands. Now we are one step closer to achieving our goals. Eh, I'll let them off easy for now. We _will_ meet again, boy, hopefully when you're in more of a mood to listen."

A corridor of darkness opened up behind Mariko, allowing her to walk into it.

Sure enough, when Nick, Blake, and Yang returned to the rest of the group, they were met with a very interesting scene. A giant mech, no doubt Cordovin's, was lying disabled against the cliffside, and out in the distance, what could only be described as a Godzilla-style Grimm could be seen slowly ambling towards Argus.

"Um, what exactly is going on?" Blake asked.

"Please don't tell me that's a giant Grimm," Yang groaned at the sight of the Leviathan.

"It is," Weiss sighed, gesturing to Cordovin's disabled Colossus. "And we might have wrecked the only thing that can stop it."

Maylin glanced at the Leviathan and smiled. "Eh, I've seen bigger."

"Now's _really_ not the time for sarcasm," Jaune stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm serious," Maylin countered. "We've taken down bad guys that were _far bigger_ than discount Godzilla out there."

"Regardless, we need to stop that thing before it destroys Argus," Haruka stated. "Let's get in the ship and brainstorm an attack plan."

"_THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU WRETCHES!"_ Cordovin shouted, pounding on the control panel in frustration.

"I'm so sorry..." Blake stated.

"Don't be. This isn't your fault," Yang replied.

"Yeah, you're safe. That's all that matters," Ruby stated, leaning over to hug Blake.

"I guess I've gotta be the bad guy and say it, huh?" Maria proclaimed. "Getting the Relic to Atlas is still priority one right now, and this is the perfect opportunity to zip straight over there. We're probably not going to get another chance."

"No way!" Yang exclaimed.

"We can't leave Argus to get destroyed by that thing," Weiss continued.

"Wasn't it you who said that a Huntress is supposed to protect people to the bitter end?" Blake quipped, to which Maria just smiled.

"We need to head for the Leviathan," Ruby proclaimed. "Jaune, are you and Ren able to mask our ship?"

"We can manage," Ren replied.

"You got an idea, Ruby?" Jaune asked.

"I'm thinkin' of one," Ruby responded.

"Eyes up, everybody!" Maylin shouted. "Discount Godzilla is on the warpath!"

The Leviathan resurfaced from its swimming pattern, letting out a terrifying roar that reverberated through the city of Argus. In response, pillars rose from the ocean around the city and electricity lanced between them, forming a hard-light Dust barrier to halt the Leviathan's progress.

Apparently, the Leviathan wasn't impressed, stopping in its tracks only to unleash a gigantic laser blast from its mouth that scythed through one of the poles powering the barrier, destroying it and creating a gap in the barrier for the Leviathan to march through.

"Well, _that_ didn't work," Maylin quipped.

"We're going to have to hit it while it's stopped at the next barrier," Ruby proclaimed. "Jaune, Ren, it's your turn! Go for it!"

Jaune and Ren nodded before combining their Semblances to mask the airship from the Leviathan's presence as it continued to march towards the next barrier, allowing the ship to slip through the air battles between the Atlas air forces and the other flying Grimm that had followed the Leviathan.

"Crap, it's about to fire! Pull up!" Qrow shouted.

The ship weaved to the left to avoid the blast from the Leviathan's mouth, once again destroying the barrier by attacking a power pole with its mouth laser.

"Damn it, that's all we've got," Jaune groaned as he and Ren collapsed to their knees, their Auras drained from the effort.

"It's on the move again!" Haruka exclaimed. "We've got to stop it here! It's now or never!"

Ruby thought for a couple seconds before glancing at Weiss, who nodded in understanding.

The Leviathan continued to march towards Argus, only to notice something approaching it rapidly.

"Okay, Ruby, you just concentrate on doing your thing," Nick stated. Nick, Maylin, Haruka, and Ruby were all riding on a gigantic Queen Lancer that Weiss had summoned for them. "The three of us are gonna fight Discount Godzilla and keep its attention away from you. Whenever you're ready, do your silver eye thing and blast that Leviathan to heck and back."

"Roger that," Ruby giggled. Eventually, the Queen Lancer stopped about halfway between the Leviathan and the remaining barrier, allowing the trinity to jump off of the Queen Lancer and fall towards the water. Maylin thrust Counterpoint downwards, creating a large platform of light around the Leviathan so they could all land on it.

"Hey, ugly!" Maylin taunted, causing the Leviathan to glance down at her. "Yeah, you, kaiju ripoff! You wanna come down here and say that to our faces?!"

The Leviathan roared loudly, almost sounding like it was accepting that challenge, and readied its claws for battle.

**("Rising" by Casey Lee Williams plays)**

"All right, any good weak spots to go after?" Haruka asked, swinging Divine Rose to parry a strike from the Leviathan's tail.

"My first guess is the head, but we'd need to climb the thing to get to it," Maylin replied, firing a Firaga spell into the Leviathan's flank, causing it to slow down in its wild flailing.

Spotting an opportunity, Nick dashed to the back of the Leviathan and, after jumping over another tail lash, leaped off of the tail to land on the Leviathan's back and actually start wall-running up the beast.

"Hey, look at fearless leader go!" Maylin exclaimed.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Haruka wondered.

Even as the Leviathan tried to shake him off, Nick continued to run up the beast's back until he reached the head, landing firmly in front of the Leviathan's face.

"Hey," Nick teased. The Leviathan roared angrily in response to this, until Nick thrust Kingdom Key into the space between its eyes, causing it to lurch a few steps back. This gave the nearby Atlas air fighters the precious few seconds they needed to fire missiles into the Leviathan's body, hoping to do some damage.

The Leviathan reached up to snatch Nick, but he easily dodged the grab, firing a Thunder spell into the hand before leaping back over to attack its face a few times.

Meanwhile, back down on the 'ground', Maylin and Haruka had decided to attack the Leviathan's legs in order to bring it down enough so they could join their leader.

"Whoa! Not nice, buddy!" Maylin proclaimed, avoiding an arcing kick before blasting the offending leg with Blizzaga and causing the Leviathan to lose its balance and ungracefully flopping back into the sea. Nick made sure to leap off when he felt the Leviathan falling, landing on the light platform and rolling the instant he touched down to minimize the impact.

"Where did it go?" Haruka asked, only to get her answer when the Leviathan popped up to the south of the platform, firing its mouth blast into the air. After a beat, the blast exploded into multiple smaller lasers that began to fall onto the platform, forcing the trinity to stay on the move.

When the barrage stopped, the Leviathan began to once again march slowly towards them.

"I think we're making progress, girls," Nick quipped.

"But we need to let that thing get just a little closer so that Ruby can blast it whenever she's ready," Haruka answered.

"Speaking of which, what's taking her so long?" Maylin wondered.

"She's probably gotta concentrate something fierce to do it when under pressure like this," Haruka answered. "And she's gotta think of very specific happy thoughts to trigger it, like what she did to fry the Apathy."

"Ooh, I am glad we didn't have to deal with those eldritch nightmares," Maylin gasped, shuddering slightly at the mere mention of the Apathy.

"Heads up, girls!" Nick shouted. "Kaiju boy's back for round two!"

The position of the Leviathan this time seemed to present a tactical problem, however, as Nick knew he couldn't run up the beast's front without getting plucked off mid-run.

"Any ideas, girls?" Nick asked.

Maylin stepped forward, Counterpoint glowing brightly. "I've got one," Maylin giggled. _"Formchange: Magic Blasters!"_

Maylin grasped Counterpoint's handle tightly, then wrenched her hands apart, splitting Counterpoint into two identical copies before twirling them in her hands. The twin blades were surrounded by musical notes and magic sparks before metamorphosing into two trumpet-like guns decorated with treble clefs and music notes.

"Try me _now_, big dude!" Maylin exclaimed, gliding around the platform and rapid-firing her Magic Blasters, bullets of solidified magic energy launching from the barrels and homing in on the Leviathan's face, forcing it to try and swat the bullets away to no avail.

After a few more barrages, Maylin unleashed her combo finisher, firing off two large spheres of magic from the blasters that flew towards the Leviathan and exploded grandly, causing the Leviathan to roar in pain.

A bright flash caught the trinity's attention, and they glanced upwards just in time to see Ruby fling her eyes open and unleash the light of her silver eyes, engulfing the Leviathan and instantly turning it to stone.

"Holy _crapbaskets_," Maylin gasped. "_That_ was cool."

Ruby looked back at the city of Argus, which was still standing, only to jerk her gaze back when she heard the sound of cracking stone, horrified to see the Leviathan attempting to break out of its stone prison.

"No..." Ruby gasped.

"Oh, _come on_! Why won't you freaks just _die and stay dead?!_" Maylin shouted, aiming her Magic Blasters for the Leviathan.

"I'll take it from here!"

The trinity followed the source of the voice, only to see Cordovin and her Colossus approaching the Leviathan, its disabled cannon arm now detached. The Colossus began running towards the Leviathan, its left hand transforming into a gigantic drill.

"After all, I swore to protect the people!" Cordovin shouted as the Colossus thrust its drill into the Leviathan's side, and weakened as it was by Ruby's silver eye attack, the Leviathan couldn't defend itself, screaming in agony until it slumped over and evaporated into black mist.

The citizens of Argus who were watching the battle began to cheer, while Saphron and Terra just stared at what they'd seen, quite honestly surprised.

"Wow," Maylin quipped, releasing her Formchange and clutching Counterpoint's handle. "That was _definitely_ the drill to pierce the heavens."

Its job done, the Colossus walked over to Ruby, still standing on Weiss' summon.

"Thank you for helping," Ruby stated. "And... I'm sorry for what we did."

The cockpit of the Colossus opened to reveal Cordovin standing at attention. "The Atlas military can handle the stragglers," Cordovin proclaimed.

"What, um... what exactly are you saying?" Ruby gasped.

To Ruby's surprise, Cordovin managed a genuine smile. "I'm saying that I don't think anyone would notice if _one more_ ship went missing in my _lengthy _report," Cordovin explained as she turned the Colossus around to join her fellow soldiers in fighting the remaining Grimm.

Much later that night, the Manta airship could be seen flying towards its destination.

"We should have just enough fuel to get to Atlas," Maria stated after checking all of the readouts.

"Thank you so much, Miss Calavera," Ruby replied.

"Hey, Ruby?" Qrow started, about to take a drink from his flask, but ultimately deciding not to. "You did great out there today. Just don't give me a heart attack like that again, got it?"

"I love you, too," Ruby laughed as she hugged Qrow.

"You weren't half bad yourself, Dusty," Maria teased.

"I feel like they did all the heavy lifting," Qrow admitted.

"But you were there to help when everyone asked for help," Haruka replied. "And you were there to catch them when they fell, quite literally if my memory serves."

"Thanks, kid," Qrow sighed. "And, honestly, it was pretty awe-inspiring to see the Grimm Reaper in action."

"Hey, you should have seen me when I was _your _age!" Maria proclaimed. "_That_ would blow your mind."

"Awww, do you guys really have to leave?" Nora groaned. "Why don't you stick with us and see Atlas for yourselves?"

"Tempting offer, but I really think we need to hit the road," Haruka replied. "Our work is sadly never done, after all."

"And considering we still need to find miss hood and figure out how the hell she's still alive and kicking," Maylin continued. "If she's still around, god only knows who else from our past could be lurking."

Ruby quickly dug into her pocket and pulled out a keychain she'd bought from a local antique shop before the 'great heist', as Maylin eloquently phrased it. "Then, how about you take this with you?" Ruby stated, handing the keychain off to Nick. "We're pretty sure you know what to do with it at this point."

Nick took the keychain and attached it to the base of Kingdom Key, then held it aloft before slashing it through the air, Kingdom Key transforming into a brand new keyblade in mid-swing. The handle guard resembled Yang's prosthetic arm connected to a hilt that looked like the hilt and handle of Myrtenaster. The blade resembled an elongated version of Gambol Shroud's cleaver topped off by the drill from the Colossus, with teeth resembling Akouo, Pyrrha's shield. The token, connected by a keychain of silver orbs, was a fully-bloomed red rose. As Nick studied his new keyblade, the name _Team Formation_ came to mind.

"That's cool," Oscar admitted. "So... do you have multiple keyblades that you can use?"

"Usually, but I lost most of the ones I'd collected when I lost my powers to that Demon Tide," Nick answered, switching between his three keyblades as he mentioned them. "So all I've got are my default keyblade, Kingdom Key, and my, shall we say, 'past life' default Starlight. And now this one."

"Honestly, it's quite the long story," Maylin quipped.

As the airship continued to fly through the night sky, Mariko Kusumi could be seen standing on a rock formation jutting out of the ocean, alongside a few other figures completely covered by black cloaks.

* * *

"I wonder how Nick's doing?" Marie asked herself as she continued to explore the caverns, hoping to find _some_ way out of this forsaken maze of tunnels and back out into open air. Despite her immunity to the dark world's corrupting effects, she still didn't like the feeling she got, of the darkness all around her trying to pull her down into it even if it couldn't.

Realizing she was losing her focus, Marie lightly slapped her cheeks. "Focus, girl, you've got a job to do," Marie stated, summoning Moonlight back to her hands just in case any Darklings tried to jump her.

"I've had enough of _those_ things for one lifetime, thank you _very_ much," Marie quipped as she began to descend a formation of stairs towards a wide-open cavern area.

To her surprise, though, Marie could see what appeared to be a gigantic tree in the center of the cavern, halfway through decomposing and absolutely destroyed by whatever had happened to its world.

Scattered around the giant tree were the remains of three large cities. One appeared to be a ruined coastal village, the second resembled the dock and ferry of a port town, and the third seemed to be a city covered in snow.

"Oh, man, what happened to these worlds?" Marie asked nobody in particular.

Before Marie could get any information about the wreckage, a horde of Neoshadows surrounded her, their intent frighteningly clear.

"Um, yeah, how about no?" Marie proclaimed. _"Formchange: Crescent Staff!"_

One of the Neoshadows leaped towards Marie, spinning its body around as it did so, but Marie simply spun Crescent Staff in her hands to form a whirling barrier that knocked the Neoshadow away.

Taking advantage of her chance, Marie waded into the swarm of Heartless, swinging Crescent Staff wildly to bash any Neoshadow that tried to get close to her.

One Neoshadow attempted to sink into the ground and slither up behind Marie to catch her off guard, but she simply slammed the jewel of Crescent Staff into the ground above it, unleashing a shockwave of purple crescent moons that forced the Neoshadow above ground. This gave Marie all the time she needed to slice it in half.

Once the Neoshadow horde was cleared out, Marie prepared to release her Formchange, only to be kicked towards the wreckage by a larger Heartless.

The Heartless in question was a large, draconian creature with predominantly dark green skin, save for its belly, which was tan, and its wings, feet, and the tip of its tail, all of which were brown. Its body was rather thin, while its three-toed feet were quite large, each sporting yellow talons. Its wings seemed rather short and bulky when compared to its feet and tail, and its wingtips were vaguely reminiscent of the Nobody symbol. The Tailbunker's tail ended in a large, misshapen club with three conical, yellow spikes on it, and its head was V-shaped and flat, and it had beady yellow eyes on either side of its head, and its Heartless emblem was imprinted on its chest.

"Oh, the bird came to play," Marie quipped, realizing that this Heartless looked incredibly similar to the Dustflier, a Heartless that Maylin and Haruka hated _immensely_.

The Tailbunker quickly rushed Marie, only to be bonked in the head by a swing from Crescent Staff, then bashed by four more swings before it decided to simply retreat, flying around the edges of the cavern.

"H-hey, get back here, freak show!" Marie shouted, trying to think of a way to catch the Tailbunker until she noticed that her staff was glowing brightly.

"Hmmmm... does this thing have another form in it?" Marie wondered. "Well, let's not waste time and find out. _Formchange: Moon-a-rang!_"

Marie clutched Crescent Staff with both of her hands before yanking it apart into two parts, both halves surrounded by sparkles of magic before shrinking down and then expanding into two large boomerangs in Marie's hand, each shaped like a crescent moon.

"Oh, yeah, _now_ we're talkin'!" Marie exclaimed, tossing both Moon-a-rangs for the Tailbunker, catching it in the back and forcing it to descend. The Moon-a-rangs swiftly returned to Marie's hands so she could throw them again, eventually causing the Tailbunker to crash into the ground near the wrecked dock.

Not wasting time, Marie ran towards the crashed Tailbunker, avoiding the fireballs it was now shooting from its mouth, and got close enough to start slicing at the Tailbunker's body with her Moon-a-rangs with rapid slashes and spinning strikes.

After a few more strikes, Marie prepared herself for her finishing move, holding out both of her Moon-a-rangs as they grew larger and larger, and twirling around like a ballerina dancer would, her Moon-a-rangs slashing at the Tailbunker with each spin. After a while of this, Marie leaped over the Tailbunker and threw her Moon-a-rangs straight downward, cutting the Tailbunker into three halves that quickly dissipated into wisps of darkness.

"And that's the way the bread is sliced," Marie giggled as the Moon-a-rangs returned to her and reformed, then reverted into Moonlight.

Marie jumped down from the cliff she was on to the ground near the giant tree, only to see a light at the opposite end of the cavern. Upon closer inspection, Marie noticed that the light was coming from what looked like a floating heart.

"If that's not the strangest sight I've seen all day..." Marie quipped to herself before realizing something. "Wait, wait, isn't that one of the hearts I'm trying to find?"

Deciding to take her chance, Marie chased after the floating heart, making her way out of the cavern and onto the edge of another cliff face that overlooked the Dark Ocean below.

"Whoa, check out the view," Marie giggled.

Marie had only taken two steps towards the pathway that led back down the mountain when a gigantic Darkside appeared in front of her, only this Darkside was also colored shades of purple.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Marie groaned.

The Dark Follower reared back and threw a powerful punch into the cliffside, forcing Marie to dive away from the punch. Thankfully, the Dark Follower's hand was now stuck in the spot it had punched, giving Marie time to strike at the hand with a few quick slashes until the Dark Follower wrenched its hand free.

The Dark Follower clutched its palm, gathering energy into its hands before firing it in the form of multiple dark spheres, all of them aimed at Marie. Watching them carefully, Marie swung Moonlight at each one that got too close to her, sending the spheres back to the Dark Follower's face and dealing damage.

After finishing its energy sphere attack, the Dark Follower dipped down so that its head was level with the cliffside and roared at Marie, hoping to intimidate her. This intimidation tactic was met by way of a keyblade to the face, forcing the Dark Follower to simply throw a punch that Marie easily parried.

After a couple seconds, the Dark Follower decided to throw another punch, but Marie jumped back from this one, causing the Dark Follower's arm to get stuck in the ground.

Sensing her opportunity, Marie hopped onto the Dark Follower's hand and began to run along its arm to the creature's face, where she was free to lay into the Dark Follower's face, ending with a jumping slash from Moonlight that knocked the Dark Follower backwards, forcing Marie to jump back to the cliffside.

For the finale, Marie channeled her dark powers until they formed into a wavy sphere in her free hand.

"Eat _this_, purple man!" Marie exclaimed, thrusting her free hand forward and unleashing her Dark Firaga attack, the ball of black and white flames screaming through the air until it came into contact with the Dark Follower's face and exploded violently, sending the Dark Follower crashing to the ground below as it faded away.

"And just as predictable as the others," Marie laughed. "But now, back to business."

With the Dark Follower out of her way, Marie made her way down the winding path until she reached the new area of the Dark Ocean where the heart had finally stopped.

"Um, excuse me, whoever you are?" Marie asked, once again surprised when the heart apparently responded to her.

_You can sense me?_

"Um, duh? I've been following you throughout those caverns, ever since I fought those Darklings," Marie answered.

_Have you come to free me from this realm of darkness?_

"Yeah, the Oracle tasked me with coming here to find certain hearts, since I'm pretty much immune to corruption by darkness," Marie continued.

_The Oracle? You know Himerish?_

"Wait, _you_ know him?" Marie gasped.

_I, and the others like me, have been imprisoned in the dark world for uncountable years, betrayed by one we once called our friend._

Marie, after a few seconds of thought, gasped in shock, as she had guessed who this heart most likely belonged to.

_How exactly will you take me out of this place?_

"I'm thinking of a way, but for now, how about you take refuge in my heart until we find a way out of this nightmare world?" Marie offered.

_You... would share your heart with mine?_

"I did the exact same thing with my brother once," Marie answered. "After I, shall we say, 'died', my heart took shelter within his until I was back on my feet."

_You are far too kind, my dear._

The heart floated forward, eventually absorbing itself into Marie's body. Marie once again felt that feeling she'd felt while resting within Nick's heart, the feeling of warmth spreading over her entire being.

With that settled, Marie continued to cross over the Dark Ocean's beaches, hoping to find a way to venture deeper so she could find the other hearts.

_And if this heart is for who I think it is, then that must be why the Oracle wanted me to find them,_ Marie thought. _But if that's true... what exactly happened that made Meter do this to them? They were her friends! ...then again, when you're consumed by selfish desires and dreams of power, that kind of stuff tends to fall by the wayside. I'm just glad I never ended up like that..._

Shaking off those thoughts for the moment, Marie crossed over another dune to find the way forward in the form of a bridge that connected this beach to the depths of the mountain.

Clutching the handle of Moonlight tightly, Marie crossed the bridge, hoping she could find the other hearts before it was too late.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Team Formation  
**_Base Strength: _**7  
**_Base Magic: _**4  
**_Ability: _**Reprisal Boost **(Increase the damage you deal with reprisal attacks by 50%. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Sinister Scythe** (Transform your keyblade into a scythe for multi-hit attacks with wide range and the ability to fire at faraway targets.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Grand Gauntlets** (Transform your keyblade into powerful hand gauntlets for crushing melee attacks.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with an emphasis on strength, representing the ideals of the warriors meant to save the world from the Creatures of Grimm.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Divine Rose H  
**_Base Strength: _**8  
**_Base Magic: _**3  
**_Ability: _**Finishing Plus **(Allows you to perform consecutive combo finishing moves. Stack the ability to allow more combo finishers.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Rose Whip** (Transform your keyblade into a whip to reach faraway targets and perform area-of-effect strikes.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Petal Blades** (Transform your keyblade into rose petal swords to unleash concussive crowd-control attacks and defend from all angles.)  
_Description: _Haruka's keyblade, representing a girl who yearns for the freedom to soar unchained through the skies.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Counterpoint M  
**_Base Strength: _**4  
**_Base Magic: _**9  
**_Ability: _**Magic Combo Thrift **(Reduce MP cost by one point with each successful spell cast.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Magic Blasters** (Transform your keyblade into dual trumpet guns to fire homing shots and explosive charged attacks.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Spell Staff** (Transform your keyblade into a powerful staff that allows you to imbue your melee attacks with magic power.)  
_Description: _Maylin's keyblade, representing a girl who longs to protect her friends through the sacred art of magic.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Kingdom Key N  
**_Base Strength: _**5  
**_Base Magic: _**3  
**_Ability: _**Full MP Burst **(When your MP is full, increase the power of your first magical ability by 50%. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange: _**Second Form **(Transform your keyblade to access your abilities from previous adventures.)  
_Description: _Nick's keyblade, representing a kind-hearted warrior who seeks only to protect what he cares about.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Starlight N  
**_Base Strength: _**6  
**_Base Magic: _**5  
**_Ability: _**Full MP Burst **(When your MP is full, increase the power of your first magical ability by 50%. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange: _**Second Form S **(Transform your keyblade to access your abilities from previous adventures.)  
_Description: _A keyblade that survives from antiquity, representing Nick's past life as a keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales.

* * *

_Link get!_

**Mira Yurizaki, the Adorable Android  
**_MP Required: _**100  
**_Description:_ A link focusing on offense, Mira allows you to call on the power of Dimension W to enhance your keyblade attacks and defend from all angles.  
_Anime of Origin: _**Dimension W (2016)  
****Commands:  
**_Dimensional Strike:_ Press X to attack as normal, only with dimensional-enhanced strikes that extend range and power.  
_Dimensional Barrier: _Press and hold [] to defend against attacks from all directions.  
_Dimensional Warp:_ Press [] while moving to warp ahead through attacks.  
_Dimensional Release: _[FINISHER] Press /\ to unleash the energy of Dimension W all around you, punishing enemies with an upheaval of light. Your Magic stat determines damage.  
**Abilities:  
**_Doubleflight:_ Press O after a jump to perform a second jump.  
_Combo Master: _Continue your attacks even if your swings miss the enemy.

* * *

On the next episode...

Haruka: Well, well, familiar territory!

Nick: You've been to this world before, Haruka?

Haruka: It's been a while, but yeah. Wonder how the Black Bulls are doing?

Maylin: Aw, it doesn't look like Noelle's getting any closer to confessing to Asta.

Haruka: Hey, it's not her fault that Asta's got his heart locked on that nun from his village.

Nick: Um, does this Asta character realize that nuns _aren't allowed to get married_?

Maylin: Asta's stubborn. Nothing else to it. ...um, Nick? Is everything okay?

Nick: What... the _hell_... are _YOU_ doing here?! As if Mariko Kusumi wasn't bad enough! Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "True Magic"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	3. True Magic

"Get back here, you!" Maylin shouted, restraining herself from shoving her way into the driver's seat out of sheer vindictiveness towards the thieving Heartless ship they were chasing.

Haruka pulled the controls upwards in order to dive under a barrage of lasers fired from the Heartless ship that resembled a pirate ship without its flags. After glancing towards their target, Haruka noticed something she hadn't before.

"I think we've gotta shoot their sail off if we're gonna down this thief," Haruka stated.

"Then let's go Highwind Mode and send 'em to Davy Jones' Locker," Nick quipped.

Haruka reached for a panel on her seat, flipping it open to reveal a large red button. Turning it like a dial twice over, Haruka dramatically slammed her fist down onto the button, causing the entire Gummi Ship to reconfigure itself into a more streamlined appearance, with sleeker wings, a smaller body, and two extra jet turbines for propulsion.

"CHARGE!" Maylin exclaimed, and the Gummi Ship shot off in pursuit of the enemy ship, circling it a few times to keep it from escaping.

Upon cornering it against a nearby cliff face, the Heartless ship attempted to dive under the cliff, inadvertently opening up its sails to attack.

"Let him have it!" Nick shouted.

Haruka responded by firing off a dual cannon shot from below that thundered forward and ripped through the pirate ship's sails, causing it to explode violently, its pieces eventually disintegrating into nothingness.

When it was over, Haruka used the Gummi Ship's tractor beam to retrieve the object the Heartless had stolen from them, a large chunk of glowing ore, then switched the ship back to its default mode.

"So, what exactly was that thing pirate boy stole from us?" Nick wondered as the chunk of ore was teleported onto the bridge.

"Well... remember what we said about upgrading our keyblades?" Maylin quipped, summoning Counterpoint to slice at the ore chunk a few times, causing pieces to fall off of it and into Maylin's hands. "Well, this is the stuff we use to upgrade them!"

"We found that combining synthesis materials with these chunks of rare ore you can apparently only find out here in the Ocean Between allows us to power up our keyblades," Haruka explained. "Go on, Nick, try it out."

Haruka handed Nick a few Wellspring Shards and a chunk of the Fluorite they'd excavated from the Ocean. Nick summoned his Kingdom Key and gently flicked the materials upwards with his free hands. The materials spiraled around Kingdom Key before eventually absorbing into the keyblade, causing it to glow brightly for a few seconds.

When the glow faded, the blade of Kingdom Key had turned from silver to gold, much like Lily's Kingdom Key was, and stars were now imprinted on the handle guard.

"Wow, that actually worked," Nick quipped. "It even _feels_ a good bit stronger now!"

"That's the idea," Maylin giggled.

A loud beeping from the monitor station immediately brought Haruka back to the pilot's seat so she could check it out.

"Well, well, it looks like we've got a new world approaching fast," Haruka stated.

"Wait, hold on, is that the Clover Kingdom?!" Maylin exclaimed.

Sure enough, the large structure that represented the approaching world was a large medieval-like city with a grand castle at the very center and surrounded by tall walls on all sides.

"Oh, man, it's been a while since we've been here, hasn't it?" Haruka quipped.

"I assume you've been to this world before?" Nick asked.

"A few times, but I'm sure this is _your_ first trip," Maylin answered before leaping forward to hug Nick. "So get ready, best buddy, you're about to meet a real hum-dinger of a squad!"

"Yeah, the Black Bulls are really something else," Haruka admitted. "But let's not waste any more time and see what's up! Prepare for landing, everybody!"

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The trinity arrives in the Clover Kingdom, a magical world that Maylin and Haruka have visited before. Inbetween helping out the Black Bulls with their usual antics and even learning how to cook, strangely enough, the main attraction is a strange figure stalking through the kingdom and effortlessly defeating many powerful Magic Knights. Could it be a rogue Knight, an undercover agent of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, or even a very familiar black-hooded troublemaker?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World: **Now we're off to Yuki Tabata and Studio Pierrot's _Black Clover_. This adventure takes place after episode 72 of Black Clover, specifically after the "obligatory hot springs episode" but before the Royal Knights Exam.

* * *

Episode 3: True Magic

The young knight slowly backed away from the figure in a black cloak that was slowly approaching him, attempting to find a spell that could save him.

"S-Stay away from me, fiend! Don't come any closer!" the Knight exclaimed.

"Or _what_?" the figure in question shot back. "In case you haven't noticed, not a _single spell_ of yours managed to so much as _scratch_ me. What good do you think _more_ spells will accomplish?"

"I will _not_ stand for your disrespect!" the Knight proclaimed, standing up and opening his grimoire wide. "I am a Magic Knight of the Golden Dawn and you _will_ respect my authority!"

The figure just shook her head in disgust. "Prototypical Magic Knight," the figure sighed. "Always considering themselves above everyone else, even when they're getting laid out like chumps. It's no wonder the common folk hate people like you so much."

"I'm warning you," the Knight shouted, his grimoire crackling with electricity. "Take one more step and I'll _fry_ you!"

The figure stood her ground, deliberately taking one more step forward just to see what the Knight would do.

"Consider yourself dusted, you hooligan! _Electricity Creation Magic: Punishing Lightning Cage!_" the Knight shouted, his grimoire glowing brightly and forming a large cage made of zig-zagging lightning bolts.

"If you take even one step further, this cage will shock you," the Knight stated. "And it _will be painful._ Now do you realize that you shouldn't have taunted me?!"

The figure simply sighed in annoyance and extended her right hand, black lightning surrounding her hand until it elongated and materialized into a rather demonic keyblade.

Before the Knight could retort, the figure swung her keyblade and dispelled the lightning cage with no effort.

"I'm sorry, maybe _this_ is what you were trying to do?" the figure laughed, rushing forward with her keyblade already raised.

The Knight attempted to cast another spell, but the figure was approaching him too fast for him to do anything about it as she slashed her keyblade overhead, cutting straight through the Knight's grimoire and effectively tearing it in half.

"M-My grimoire!" the Knight shouted.

"Sorry, but if you're going to act like an entitled jackass just because you got wicked magic, then maybe you don't _deserve_ that magic," the figure laughed. "Maybe take that as a lesson."

The figure spun on her heel and left the scene, ignoring the other Magic Knights that were rapidly approaching. They weren't worth her time, honestly.

After all... her real target was most likely on its way here now.

* * *

"Wow, this place is pretty impressive," Nick admitted as he, Maylin, and Haruka strolled through the main city of the Clover Kingdom.

"It's quite the sight to see," Haruka admitted, definitely not missing the way Maylin's nose twitched at the scent of all the delicious-looking food coming from the nearby stalls, and slightly surprised that a certain small girl wasn't here eating everything she could.

"So, these Magic Knights you two keep referencing," Nick started. "What _are_ they, exactly?"

"They're basically squads of exceptionally powerful or gifted magic users that use their powers to defend the Clover Kingdom from anything that might threaten it," Haruka explained. "Like, say... those weirdos from the Eye of the Midnight Sun."

"I still remember the end of the last fight we had with them," Maylin quipped, still slightly shuddering at the thought of how close to death she had been thanks to the Witch Queen controlling Asta's body. "Thank the stars that Vanessa basically said 'screw destiny' at that point."

"Aren't most of their strongest fighters out of commission right now?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, of all three members of the Third Eye, only that Rhya guy's still with them," Maylin answered. "Vetto's dead and meat courtesy of Yami, and Fana came back to the light thanks to Mars."

"I see that smile on your face, you goober," Haruka playfully chided.

"I can't help myself!" Maylin giggled. "Those two are _so cute_ together! I'm happy we brought Fana back to her senses!"

"Still playing the matchmaker after all this time, huh?" Nick laughed.

Before Maylin could answer that, she noticed a flash of light from far above their position.

"_Lightning Magic: Rain of Storms!"_

Dozens of small spheres of electricity began to rain down on the trinity from above, though Maylin simply cast a Reflect spell around them to block the attack.

"I see you up there, Luck!" Maylin laughed. "Get down here, you!"

Sure enough, someone jumped down from the roof of a nearby house, his grimoire already opened.

"Aw, I thought I had you that time," Luck Voltia laughed.

"Keep trying, buddy," Maylin giggled.

Luck was about to close his grimoire, only for Nick to lunge forward and slash his keyblade towards Luck, who simply dodged backwards.

"You've got some nerve trying to attack my friends like that!" Nick shouted.

"Oh, do you wanna fight me?" Luck proclaimed.

"Um, Maylin, should we stop them?" Haruka asked. "Because I don't think Nick knows that Luck's just a battle nut."

"Yeah, we probably should," Maylin replied.

"_Lightning Creation Magic: Thunder God's Gloves!"_ Luck exclaimed, surrounding his hands with electricity that formed into electric clawed gauntlets.

"Okay, so that's the way you're gonna play, huh?" Nick proclaimed, switching his keyblade to Team Formation.

"Ooh, what's _your_ magic?" Luck stated.

Nick said nothing, simply twirling Team Formation in his hands. "Well, how about you watch and find out?" Nick shot back. _"Formchange: Sinister Scythe!"_

Nick spun Team Formation around himself, causing it to elongate and transform into a scythe similar in design to Crescent Rose, Ruby's weapon. Nick twirled the scythe around a few times before bringing its blade into a fighting stance.

"You're gonna regret going after my friends all willy-nilly like that!" Nick shouted, rushing forward.

"Hahaha, this is _definitely_ gonna be fun!" Luck exclaimed, charging forward as well.

However, before they could clash, Maylin planted herself firmly inbetween the two of them.

"COMPANY HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!" Maylin screamed, causing both Nick and Luck to skid to a stop before they could crash into the young mage. "Sorry about that, Luck, but I need to set some things straight here. Okay, Nick, here's the skinny: Luck here actually loves fighting, and he wasn't trying to hurt me, comprende? He's just testing my reflexes because he always does that every time I come to the Clover Kingdom."

Even so, Nick gave Luck a scrutinizing glance, clutching the scythe tightly. "You're sure?" Nick responded. "You _know_ I _don't_ take attacking my friends lightly."

"Hey, I just like fighting strong guys and girls!" Luck laughed. "And Maylin here's one of the best mages I've _ever_ fought!"

"Yeah, if you wanna sink your scythe into something, Nick, try those guys," Haruka quipped, pointing forwards at a group of Heartless consisting mostly of Bookmasters and Runemasters, along with a third type wearing blue and indigo robes and carrying a dark blue book.

"Oh, good god, not the barrier creeps again," Maylin growled, summoning Counterpoint to her hands.

"Yeah, Barrier Masters are the more annoying variant of these book dudes," Haruka explained to Nick. "They can project shields to protect themselves as well as other nearby Heartless, so the best way to take care of them is to find a way to separate them from their book, and then beat some ass before they can get it back."

Nick nodded, swinging Sinister Scythe at the nearest Bookmaster, swiftly slicing it in half before the Barrier Master could give it a shield, then spinning the scythe around him to deflect the spells that the Runemasters began to throw at him.

Maylin decided to make herself useful, moving in to attack the lone Barrier Master, only for it to put up its shield. This angered Maylin, forcing her to Formchange into Magic Blasters and start shooting at the shield, hoping to keep the Barrier Master's attention on her.

While jumping over a fireball that one of the Runemasters flung at her, Haruka leaped to behind the Barrier Master, Formchanging into Rose Whip and lashing out at the shield, finally making some dents in it.

While this was happening, Maylin immediately fired a charged shot from her Magic Blasters that finally destroyed the shield and sent the Barrier Master reeling, though it quickly recovered and moved to reclaim its book.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Nick shouted, leaping forward to ravage the Barrier Master with a series of spinning attacks from Sinister Scythe before swinging it horizontally to slice the stubborn Heartless in half.

"You're mine, book boys!" Maylin shouted, gliding between the remaining Heartless and firing barrages of magical bullets to take down each one of them. The few stragglers were left as easy pickings for Haruka and her Rose Whip.

"Well, that was annoying," Maylin quipped as the trinity released their Formchanges. "Have I mentioned how much I hate those Heartless that raise barriers to protect others? BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ANNOYING!"

"Hey, at least it's dead, right?" Haruka giggled. "We can move on now."

"There you are, Luck! Where the heck did you go?!"

Nick glanced behind him as two other people wearing the robe of the Black Bulls rushed up to where Luck was standing.

"You might wanna get back to the base before Captain Yami has a fit," Finral Roulacase proclaimed. "He's been trying to summon the rest of the Black Bulls."

"What's ol' spiky-hair want with us now?" Maylin asked.

"Oh, hey, Maylin, long time!" Asta exclaimed. "If you and your friends are visiting, we could certainly use your help! Follow me!"

"I'll provide the transportation," Finral stated, opening his grimoire. _"Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel Gate!"_

A large, shimmering portal appeared in front of them, and Asta and Finral walked straight into it, leaving the trinity to follow just behind them.

When they made it through the portal, the group had found themselves smack dab in the middle of the Black Bulls' headquarters, where a _lot_ of people were all conversing about whatever Yami had called them together for.

"Meet the squad, huh?" Nick teased.

"Oh, yeah, that's right! I promised to introduce you next time we came!" Maylin gasped, then turned her gaze to the rest of the Black Bulls. "ATTENTION!"

Maylin's shout immediately snapped the Black Bulls' attention to her.

"Now that I've got your eyes and ears," Maylin giggled, pulling Nick closer to her. "I have some introductions to make. Nick, my dude, say hello to the Black Bulls."

Maylin began to gesture to each of the Black Bulls in turn, starting with a tall man with a very muscular build, with black eyes and medium-length black hair of medium length that was messily combed backward, making it stick outwards, along with a stubbly mustache and beard.

"This tall badass is Yami Sukehiro, the Destruction God," Maylin stated. "He's the captain of the Black Bulls, and he uses Darkness Magic. Not the bad kind that we fight against, but more the darkness that's present in everything that's _supposed_ to be there. He may seem like a bit of a hothead, but he's a really cool... EEP!"

That last was brought about by Yami reaching out with his free hand to grab Maylin by the head and lift her into the air.

"What'd you say about me, pipsqueak?" Yami growled.

Nick was immediately on the move, summoning Starlight and leaping forward to slash at Yami's hand, forcing him to drop Maylin. The other Black Bulls gasped in shock at the sudden attack.

"You touch Maylin again, and the next one's going for your _head_," Nick proclaimed.

All was silent for a few seconds until Yami simply started laughing.

"Wow, that's the first time in a _long_ while anyone's had the guts to attack me without hesitation," Yami laughed. "I like your style, kid. Now I see why these two speak so highly of your skills."

"Um... thanks, I guess?" Nick replied, still confused.

"He's really a cool dude when you're on his good side," Haruka stated.

"So, don't put yourself on his shit-list, then, right?" Nick responded.

"Pretty much," Maylin giggled, then pointing towards a short young man with green eyes and messy, ash blond hair with a single strand protruding upwards from the center of his head. "This ball of muscle is Asta, one of the newer members of the Black Bulls. For some reason, he's the only one in the kingdom that has absolutely no magic power whatsoever. Good news, though, he makes up for it with his anti-magic swords that can chop through any kind of magic, even my own!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be the Wizard King someday!" Asta proclaimed. "I'm _never_ giving up on my dream!"

"Ah, a dude after my own heart," Nick laughed.

Maylin then gestured towards a fifteen-year-old girl with a slender build and pink eyes, with long silver hair tied in twin pigtails, with her center bangs over her forehead.

"This is Noelle Silva, the Sea Goddess, another recent member," Maylin explained. "She's a powerful user of Water Magic, and she's a... well, she _used_ to be a noble."

Nick definitely noticed the way Noelle's expression twitched at that.

"She has incredible magic power, but used to have difficulty controlling it," Maylin continued. "And, well, this is where I unfortunately have to speak ill of her family."

"You two _have_ mentioned them before," Nick realized. "And you've said how much you don't really like them."

"Ooh, I freakin' HATE everyone from the Silva family who's not Noelle or her late mother!" Maylin shouted. "They're all a bunch of stuck-up, elitist, insensitive _jackasses_! Those jerks disowned Noelle just because her mother died giving birth to her and they think it's all her fault! Holy crapbaskets, Nick, you wouldn't _believe_ how much I had to restrain myself from breaking Solid's arms the last time he insulted her!"

"Yeah, the Silva family is basically the prototypical example of nobility in this kingdom," Haruka continued. "Not everyone in the Magic Knights is like that, thankfully, but it's still a problem."

"And I am... well," Noelle started, trying to keep up an air of indifference, but it quickly crumbled. She knew she could always count on Maylin and Haruka to back her up. "Ah, to heck with it. I'm really grateful to you two for always standing up for me."

"You can add me to that list now, Noelle," Nick answered. "Your family won't ever treat you badly again if I have anything to say in the matter."

"I've gotten so much stronger since then, too, but they still look down on me," Noelle groaned. "But the Royal Knights Exam is soon, and I'm pretty sure at least one of my family will be there, so that's when I'll teach them that I'm not weak anymore."

"You'll get 'em, I know that for a fact," Nick proclaimed, actually causing Noelle to blush slightly at the praise.

"He's _still_ making the ladies blush," Maylin giggled. "That's too fun to see!"

"Hey, the Oracle _did_ say that Nick's got a special gift for connecting with others," Haruka replied.

Maylin then directed Nick's attention to a young man of average height and build with "droopy" brown eyes and somewhat unruly dirty blond hair. "This guy is Final Roulacase, and he's a shameless flirt," Maylin stated. "He uses Spatial Magic to create portals to pretty much anywhere."

"The lovely lady speaks the truth," Finral proclaimed. "And would the lovely lady also honor me with..."

"Finral, _down_," Maylin immediately replied, reaching out to hold Nick's free hand. "I'm already spoken for."

"The loveliest always are..." Finral sighed dramatically before regaining his composure.

Maylin then pointed to a man with a lean build and multi-colored hair (light grey at the top and black at the sides), along with a black Mohawk and a facial signature that resembled a straight line surrounded by three pairs of dots on his face.

"This quirky dude is Magna Swing, the Weird Glasses Yankee," Maylin stated. "He's got that typical tough guy attitude, but he's a pretty chill guy once you get past that fact. He commands Fire Magic, which makes sense, since I think he's even be more of a hothead than Yami."

"Hey, I heard that!" Magna exclaimed.

"What? Just speaking the truth," Maylin giggled. "Now, Nick, I know you've already met Luck Voltia, the Cheery Berserker, who wields Lightning Magic like it's going out of style."

"Yeah, you're the weirdo who attacked us out of nowhere!" Nick shouted.

"Hey, as long as I get to fight tough guys, I'm good," Luck laughed.

"Good for you," Haruka replied.

"Now, this grumpy butt over here," Maylin cut in, gesturing to a tall, slender-built young man with light skin, brown eyes, and shaggy light brown hair that draped over his forehead and left eye, which had been replaced by a small magical mirror. "This is Gauche Adlai, a former criminal whose family, well, basically screwed over him and his little sister Marie. He uses Mirror Magic to create mirror images to do his bidding, and he's very, _very_ devoted to his sister."

"You wouldn't do anything to harm my precious Marie, _would you_?" Gauche growled, advancing threateningly on Nick.

"Whoa, whoa, calm the hell down, dude," Nick shot back. "I'm not the kind of guy who would do something like that. Besides, I've got a sister of my own, too. Hey, we both have sisters named Marie! Isn't _that_ a coincidence..."

"Moving right along," Maylin laughed, now pointing to a tall young woman with a voluptuous body, purple eyes, and long, wavy pink hair hanging loose in a lob hairstyle. She was also wearing nothing but her lingerie.

"This bombshell, in her own words, is Vanessa Enoteca, the Drunken Frenzy Witch," Maylin proclaimed. "She's like the big sister figure of the Black Bulls, and she uses Thread Magic, usually to mend clothes and stuff, but I've seen some crazy combination attacks used with it, like what she, Finral and Asta did at the Seabed Temple. _That_ was cool!"

Vanessa did a sultry pose, causing Maylin to sweatdrop slightly. "And, as you can also see... Vanessa has no shame _whatsoever_."

"So I've noticed," Nick quipped.

"Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it," Vanessa giggled. "That's what I always say."

Vanessa sauntered her way over to Nick, her smile never leaving her face. "And Maylin never told me how _handsome_ you were," Vanessa laughed.

"Um, Vanessa?" Maylin stated quite clearly. "Need I remind you that _Nick is taken?_"

"Oh, calm down, dearie, I'm just teasing you," Vanessa responded.

"Let's hope so," Nick stated. "Cornelia would most likely have a _fit_ if she saw this."

After Vanessa sat back down, Maylin directed Nick to a petite girl with shoulder-length black hair and green eyes, looking much younger than her actual age, with thin eyebrows and a wide forehead. Her hair was styled in an upside-down bun with fringes framing both sides of her face.

"This adorable little ball of fluff, sometimes literally, is Charmy Pappitson, the Voracious Eater," Maylin explained. "She's usually always eating something, but she's honestly very friendly and cute, and she uses Cotton Magic. She typically uses it to create giant sheeps that cook things for her, but her food has a really awesome side effect, in that it instantly restores the mana of anyone who eats it!"

Charmy bounded over to Nick, handing him a chocolate muffin. "Have a muffin!" Charmy proclaimed. "It's _chocolate_."

"Right up my alley!" Nick laughed, claiming the muffin and immediately biting into it.

"Nick, I thought you were going to make the obvious joke," Haruka giggled.

After finishing the muffin and feeling his magic revitalize itself, Nick glanced back at Haruka. "Um, Haruka, that's because it's _too_ obvious," Nick replied.

Maylin then gestured to a slender, young man with pale skin and short, slicked-back black hair, red eyes, and was wearing black eyeshadow in large circles around his eyes, along with black lipstick and black nail polish.

"Mister rockstar-looking boy here is Gordon Agrippa, and he's a wielder of Poison Magic," Maylin stated. "Despite first impressions, Gordon's actually a really nice guy. You seeing the trend yet, Nick?"

"Definitely," Nick quipped. "It's nice to know the Black Bulls have that sociability the other squads probably lack."

Gordon looked up at Nick and started mumbling. Though it seemed like he was talking too softly to be heard, Nick could understand him easily.

"It's nice to meet someone like you, Nick, someone who clearly understands the power of friendship."

"Well, my friends _are_ my power, after all," Nick proclaimed, resting the Kingdom Key on his shoulder, only to notice something out of place in the room. Apparently, now he was seeing two Gordons for some reason.

"Um, Gordon, do you know there's two of you in here?" Nick asked.

"Grey, silly, come on out," Maylin teased. "We wanna introduce you to our buddy."

The second Gordon sighed before releasing the transformation, causing an explosion of smoke, which quickly cleared to reveal a woman of average height, with blue eyes and light blue hair in a bob cut with some strands hanging in the front.

Almost immediately, Grey covered her face with her hands, leaving Nick utterly confused.

"Um... did I do something wrong?" Nick asked.

"It's not you, Nick," Haruka answered. "Grey's just really, _really_ shy, even though she's been trying her best to socialize lately."

"This lovely blue-haired lass is a master of Transformation Magic, which means she can transform into a perfect copy of anyone or anything and mimic everything they can do, including their abilities," Maylin explained. "So, basically, Nick, if she were to copy _you_, that means Grey could also use a keyblade for as long as she's transformed into you."

"That sounds like quite a useful skill," Nick quipped, extending a hand to Grey. It took a couple seconds, but Grey slowly peeked out from behind her hands to look at Nick. "It's okay, Grey. I'm not gonna bite."

A few more second passed before Grey reached out to touch Nick's extended hand, trying her best not to freak out.

"Nice to meet you, Grey," Nick proclaimed carefully, not wanting to be too forceful and scare her off.

"I-it's... nice to meet y-you, too," Grey stammered, managing a smile.

"All right, now that introductions are out of the way, what did you call us here for, Captain Yami?" Asta wondered.

"Long story short, we've been given a mission directly from the Wizard King himself," Yami explained. "Some wingnut is skulking around the Clover Kingdom and attacking other Magic Knights, even stealing or destroying their grimoires for whatever reason. We've been tasked with stopping whoever's responsible for this, so _get to it!_"

That last bit caused all the Black Bulls to pile out of the base quickly, with the trinity following suit not too long after.

"Well, that was interesting," Nick quipped.

"Yeah, Yami's pretty forceful at times," Asta quipped. "He usually tries to get us going by saying something along the lines of 'if you die, I'll kill you'."

"Simple, but effective," Haruka giggled.

"Let's go out and stomp this creep so we can all get back quickly and have a _feast_!" Charmy exclaimed.

The Black Bulls cheered for this, unaware that the hooded figure was watching them from afar.

After a while of fruitless searching, the Black Bulls eventually made their way to the Royal Capital where the Star Festival had been held, following multiple citizens' reports of seeing strange trails of darkness leading that way.

"Kinda feels weird to be back here after the Star Festival," Finral admitted. "Honestly, I still can't believe we jumped all the way to second place."

"We'll be _first_ next year!" Magna laughed.

While the Black Bulls conversed, Nick took a few steps forward, glancing around the capital area for whatever that was he'd just sensed.

"Is... is everything okay, Nick?" Grey asked.

"Something doesn't feel right here," Nick replied. "You girls feel it, too, right?"

"Yeah, that darkness that just doesn't match up with what we've been fighting," Maylin quipped.

Before Nick could look any further ahead, puddles of darkness opened up around them, forcing the trinity to summon their keyblades as, of all things, Floods popped out of the puddles to surround them, followed by a new Unversed they'd never seen before. This creature was shaped like a large hourglass with black bases and green highlights, one base sporting a single black spike and the other base sporting three spikes. It had two black handles resembling small wings near its middle, the main glass was translucent and half-filled with sand, and its tiny head could be seen inside the glass, tumbling around with the sand.

"Okay, that's a new one!" Haruka shouted.

Nick kept his stance as a Flood leaped towards him, only lunging forward at the last second to slice it in half with Starlight and catch a few other Floods in the strike.

Maylin let a couple Floods surround her before readying her own keyblade. When the Floods lunged for her, Maylin unleashed a Magic Hour around her that shredded the Floods apart.

Meanwhile, Haruka eyed the new challenger, the Chrono Twister, as it slowly floated towards her. When it spun around to strike her, Haruka raised Divine Rose to parry the strike before slashing at its body, flipping it over so that its sad red-eyed expression was now a happy one, and the sand inside began to trickle downwards again.

"Hmmm... probably a good idea to keep that sand from reaching the bottom," Haruka thought as she leaped over a spray of silver orbs to slice downward with Divine Rose, splitting the Chrono Twister down the middle.

Once the Unversed were gone, Nick had a realization moment, stumbling back a few steps out of shock.

"Whoa, fearless leader, everything okay?" Maylin wondered.

"Girls, those were _Unversed_ we just fought," Nick proclaimed.

"Um, Unversed? They're not a kind of Heartless, are they?" Vanessa asked.

"Unversed are monsters created from negative emotions," Haruka stated. "But... wait, wait just a second. If they're here..."

"Well, well, I was wondering when you'd finally put the pieces together. I honestly expected it sooner, but hey, everyone's wrong sometimes."

Everyone present snapped their gazes towards the castle just ahead, from where the Clover King and the Wizard King had addressed everyone during the Star Festival. There, standing in front of the large throne-like chair, was another figure completely covered by a black cloak.

Nick's entire body tensed up. If this figure was who he thought it was...

The figure leaped down, only to vanish in a flash of darkness and reappear right in front of the group.

"Are _you_ the one who's been attacking Magic Knights and destroying their grimoires?!" Noelle proclaimed, already aiming her wand for the cloaked figure.

"Oh, what gave me away?" the figure teased, then glancing over at Nick, who still held a rather stunned expression. "And I assume you've already figured me out?"

"L-Lily?" Nick gasped.

"Good guess," Lily responded, lowering the hood of her cloak to reveal a woman no older than Nick, with long, chest-length blonde hair with brown tips, and brown eyes lined by a shade of silver.

Lily simply giggled in a slightly sinister way at Nick's shocked expression. "Yeah, it's good to see you, too, father," Lily laughed.

"Wait, did she say 'father'?" Charmy wondered. "They look the same age!"

"That's what I thought, too," Finral admitted.

"Y-you're supposed to be gone!" Maylin shouted. "A-and furthermore, didn't you 'go out with a smile'?! Nick said you two reached some kind of understanding before you died!"

In response, Lily just laughed. "I'm not _that_ me," Lily answered. "I'm from a point in time _before_ that nonsense actually happened."

"Wait, wait, is _that _what the Dark Mother's doing?!" Nick shouted. "She's bringing all of our foes through time to fight us?!"

"Basically," Lily laughed. "Sadly, her time-travel powers were limited, like mine were, but she's got enough allies to scuttle whatever worthless cause you're fighting for now."

Maylin quickly summoned Counterpoint to her hands, ready to fight if need be.

"You've got some nerve after everything you did to us," Haruka growled, summoning Divine Rose to her hands.

"Hey, I have a mission to complete, and I already told you, I'm not letting a bunch of _kids_ stand in my way," Lily shot back, summoning a keyblade to her hands.

Though it resembled Void Gear, the keyblade that the Omen had used during Nick's final battle with the specter, Lily's version was more monochrome, the guard and teeth, as well as the chain wrapped around its shaft, being all black, along with a white shaft and grey versions of the Gazing Eyes.

"And besides, it looks like you've lost some of your fighting spirit since last we met, father," Lily taunted.

"And now you're _mocking _me?!" Nick shouted, summoning Team Formation to his hands.

"All right, _dad_," Lily proclaimed. "Let's see what you're made of."

"You've got some nerve, lady!" Magna growled. "_Fire Magic..."_

Magna didn't get to finish casting his spell as Lily lunged for him, slamming Void Gear into his chest and knocking him straight into a nearby pillar.

"Any one of you losers want to be next?" Lily challenged, eyeing Charmy.

Despite this, Charmy wasn't intimidated, immediately opening her grimoire even as Lily charged straight for her.

"_Cotton Creation Magic: Strike of the Sleeping Sheep!"_ Charmy chanted, a gigantic sheep-ram hybrid appearing behind her and throwing a powerful punch straight towards Lily. Even though she was able to easily dodge the punch, the giant ram punched with its other hand, and this time, Lily was unable to defend herself in time, the giant fist colliding with her and sending her careening across the grounds.

Despite this, Lily cut a backflip to regain her footing and rush back towards the Black Bulls, intent on slicing Charmy in half, only for Nick to plant himself firmly in front of Charmy and raise Team Formation to parry the strike.

"You're _not_ touching my friends while I'm around," Nick proclaimed.

"Very well, then," Lily laughed. "Let's dance, _father_!"

Lily immediately jumped through the air to attack with an overhead spin attack, one that Nick parried and retaliated with a Speed Slash. On the final hit, though, Lily seemed to freeze up before vanishing.

"Oh, so you've learned some new tricks after losing your old ones, huh?" Lily stated, having teleported above Nick to come down with a falling spike attack. Thankfully for Nick, he was wise to this trick already and rolled away from the counter move.

"And it seems like you're still rehashing the same old crap," Nick taunted.

"Spoke too soon, father," Lily cackled, encasing herself in a sphere of darkness. Multiple shadowy clones of her began to fly out from the dark sphere and attempt to strike at Nick, though he simply battled them away with Team Formation before lunging forward to strike at the dark sphere.

However, Nick's keyblade only passed through the sphere harmlessly, forcing him to leap back to avoid getting shanked by more shadowy clones.

After a few more clones were defeated, the sphere dissipated and Lily jumped into the air to spray the ground in front of her with dark lightning, forcing the trinity to scatter in different directions to avoid it.

While Nick was in the middle of his roll, Lily rushed him, spinning gracefully around him and placing two rows of dark crystals on either side of him. Nick swiftly Formchanged into Sinister Scythe and spun the scythe around his body like a demented hula hoop to block the crystals from impaling him.

While Lily again teleported into the air, Nick jumped back from the downward strike before pressing the attack, ravaging Lily's body with a fierce series of spinning strikes and long-range shots, eventually forcing Lily to retreat back to the entrance of the castle.

Noelle raised her wand, having sensed an opportunity. Watery magic energy began to flow around her wand even as she opened her grimoire.

"Oh, you _really_ think I'm going to let you?!" Lily laughed, charging forward and raising Void Gear to attack, only for Nick to jump in front of her and spin Sinister Scythe like a windmill to block the incoming stab.

"Keep your eye on the birdie,_ dearie_," Nick taunted, his scythe glowing brightly. _"Formchange: Grand Gauntlets!"_

Nick spun the scythe before it dissipated into light particles that reformed around Nick's hands, eventually materializing into red and gold gauntlets that heavily resembled Yang's weapons, the Ember Celica, only with crown-shaped spikes lining the fists. Nick clashed the gauntlets together, creating a pulse wave around him, before punching the ground twice and shifting into a fighting stance.

"It doesn't matter what you do," Lily cackled. "Gauntlets, scythe, even some stupid magic _book_ won't save you from me!"

"I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you, Lily," Nick responded. "You _know_ it didn't go well for you last time."

"Maybe, but this time's different," Lily challenged. "I'm not going to fall for any of your hare-brained schemes _this_ time!"

Knowing that nothing he said would faze her, Nick simply charged into the fray, lashing out with quick punch and jab attacks. Despite being able to parry many of them, a few of those jabs managed to slip through Lily's guard and strike at her exposed chest. And those jabs _hurt_, most likely due to Nick's increased strength in this Formchange.

Lily raised Void Gear for an overhead strike, only for Nick to clash his gauntlets together, creating a pulse wave from the point of impact that stumbled Lily, giving Nick ample time to slam both gauntlets forward and unleash a shockwave that knocked Lily for a loop.

Not finished with his attack yet, Nick ran forward while Lily was still tumbling and reached out to grab her by the leg, lifting her up by it before using Grand Gauntlet's strength to smash Lily into the ground a couple times before tossing her high into the air.

"Now, Noelle!" Nick shouted.

Noelle didn't need another tell, aiming straight for the flying Lily. _"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!"_ Noelle exclaimed. A gigantic vortex of water burst from the tip of her wand, the other end topped off with the head of a sharp-toothed sea dragon, thundered through the air and struck Lily, battering her multiple times until the spell spiraled through the air a couple times before smashing back down to the ground, cracking the stone and granite around the point of impact, eventually dissipating and leaving Lily on the ground in an ungainly sprawl.

"Ouch," Lily groaned. "I guess I had that coming, didn't I?"

"You're damn right you did," Maylin growled, hefting Counterpoint threateningly. "Now unless you want _us_ to start wailing on your sorry keester, too, you'll scuttle off to whatever hideout you're using."

"Might as well," Lily conceded. "I got what I came for anyway, so I may as well retreat for the moment."

Lily picked herself up, brushed off her cloak, and raised her free hand to open a corridor of darkness behind her. "This won't be the end, by the way," Lily proclaimed. "We _will_ be seeing each other again, father, so... just try not to get yourself killed before the big finale, all right? Wouldn't really be fun that way."

"Um, _excuse me_?!" Maylin shouted. "What are you blithering about now?!"

"You _do_ know that the Dark Mother is searching for hearts stained by darkness, right?" Lily quipped.

"Yeah, and what does that have to do with _you_?!" Nick shot back.

"Now, my dear father, why would I spoil the surprise like that?" Lily giggled before walking into the dark corridor and vanishing.

"Um, would someone like to explain what the heck _that_ was all about?!" Asta exclaimed. "Did she say she's your _daughter?!_"

"Well, that's about two and a half stories, honestly," Haruka sighed. "Let's report to the Wizard King, since we drove the obvious troublemaker out of here, and we'll explain what's been happening on the way back. It's quite the tale, after all."

And with their mission completed, the entire entourage returned to their headquarters, with Haruka and Maylin regaling the Black Bulls with the stories of their adventures across the worlds.

"All right, _let's eat!_" Charmy proclaimed.

"Um, Charmy, didn't we just eat before we left?" Vanessa asked.

"I know, but I'm hungry again," Charmy admitted, her stomach growling. "What to make, though?"

Nick cast an errant glance over towards a large table in the northwest corner of the lobby that was overrun with various food ingredients, no doubt Charmy's cooking table of sorts.

"I've got an idea," Nick quipped. "Follow me, Charmy."

Charmy did so, jogging over to her table with Nick close behind. "Let's see if I can help you add an otherworldly touch to some of your meals, Charmy," Nick stated.

"You'd do that for me?" Charmy gasped. "Oh, you ROCK!"

"Let's see, what do we have here?" Nick wondered, gazing at all of the different ingredients strewn about the table. "What did Cornelia teach me about cooking that mister supreme Chef Wingnut couldn't?"

After a couple seconds, Nick spied a certain set of ingredients that could be used to make a Beef Bourguignon, which Cornelia had made for him a few times due to Nick being a self-professed bad cook.

_But, since we're using magic, it shouldn't really be too much of a problem,_ Nick thought. "Ready, Charmy?" Nick asked.

"Let's do it!" Charmy proclaimed. _"Cotton Creation Magic: Bring on the Sheep Cooks!"_

Two of Charmy's Sheep Cooks appeared behind them, ready to act on Charmy's command.

"How about we set the mood first?" Charmy giggled, summoning a third Sheep Cook that was holding a radio. "All right, Sheepy, _START THE MUSIC!"_

**("Haruka Mirai" by Kankaku Piero plays)**

Nick stood at attention as the music started, ready for whatever they were going to do.

One of the Sheep Cooks tossed a couple ingredients towards him in rhythm with the music that was playing, and Nick swung Starlight out to chop them in time with the song.

_Must have to keep in time with the song,_ Nick thought.

The strange relay continued for a few minutes, with Nick doing various tasks in time with the music, including chopping the rosemary and garlic, searing the beef with just the right touch of Fire magic, and even mixing the ingredients together with a wave of his keyblade.

When the music had finished, Nick snapped Starlight down one last time, and right in front of him sat a perfect-looking bowl of beef bourguignon.

"And that's how it's done," Nick quipped.

"That was _cool_!" Charmy exclaimed. "You're a pretty good cook, Nick!"

"I'd like to think my keyblade and magic helped, considering I'm a self-admitted pretty bad cook with normal cooking stuff," Nick stated. "Probably just need to practice more."

"Hey, you'll get it sooner or later, I know it!" Charmy laughed.

"You wanna try some of this, girls?" Nick asked. "It looks delicious!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Maylin giggled, walking forward, only to stop after a few steps and shudder violently, almost as if something in the air had repulsed her greatly.

Naturally, the rest of the Black Bulls were wondering what had just happened.

"Are you okay, dearie?" Vanessa asked.

"And what was that I just sensed?" Asta wondered. "It felt like... someone had a _really_ foul aura coming from them, like Captain Yami's darkness magic, but... you know, actually _bad_."

"It _must_ be bad if _you _of all people can sense it, Asta," Haruka responded. "I just caught wind of an _extremely_ steep darkness not too far away from here. Does that feel familiar, Maylin?"

"How could it _not_?" Maylin gasped, shaking her head a few times to clear her mind. "It feels almost _exactly_ like the darkness Nick said belonged to Adam while he was chasing Blake and Yang."

"Then that means whoever it belongs to might be one of the dark hearts that the Dark Mother's looking for, the 'hearts stained by darkness' that Lily mentioned," Nick stated. "Which means we need to move quickly."

Nick charged out of the Black Bulls base with Maylin and Haruka in hot pursuit, alongside Noelle because she also sensed a familiar presence.

And sure enough, who else but her older brother Solid Silva was standing there in the front, a wickedly sadistic grin adorning his face.

"W-what are _you_ doing here, Solid?" Noelle gasped.

"And didn't I warn you to stop messing with her, asshole?!" Maylin growled, immediately summoning Counterpoint to her hands. "Because if you lay a finger on her, I _will_ break those knuckle-y hands of yours. And don't think I won't!"

"Oh, Noelle, still hanging out with these scumbags?" Solid cackled. "I guess it doesn't matter how much stronger you get. Associating with these lowlife _peasants_ means you're content to live in our shadow for the rest of your miserable life. Just what I expected of such a useless, _worthless_ _brat_."

Noelle stood her ground. She promised herself that she wouldn't let Solid intimidate her any longer, after all.

However, before she could say something in retaliation, Maylin took that honor for her.

"Oh, you'd like to _think _that, wouldn't you, you son of a bitch?!" Maylin snarled, lightning crackling along Counterpoint's blade. "The Black Bulls are actually _compassionate _and _loving_ people, but apparently _you_ wouldn't know compassionate and loving if it stabbed you in the back of the head!"

"You're supposed to be her sibling," Nick continued, summoning Team Formation to his hands. "Family is _supposed_ to look out for and _protect_ each other, _not_ make their life a living hell just because you blame her for _everything_ that went wrong in your lives! It's not Noelle's fault that her mother died!"

"That's where you're wrong, you little commoner _wretch_," Solid shot back. "Our dear mother died bringing that failure into our world. Don't act like you know a _single thing _about family, you dirty whelp."

At the sudden flare of darkness, Maylin and Haruka couldn't help but stumble when they noticed that particular darkness was coming from Nick.

_Oh, no,_ Maylin thought, noting how familiar this seemed.

"All right, that is the _last goddamn straw!_" Nick screamed, dark energy exploding around him and turning his clothes, skin, and keyblade a deep shade of black. Nick's eyes also started glowing red, an aura of darkness surrounded him, and a fluorescent white swirling pattern was imprinted on his pants.

"You think you're better than everyone else, _don't you_?!" Nick shouted, his voice normal despite the harrowing transformation that reminded Maylin too much of Anti-Form.

"Oh, don't think I'm scared of you just because you changed your skin tone, _boy_!" Solid laughed.

Nick's next response actually put Solid on edge, if only for the sheer malice those three words contained.

"You should be."

Unwilling to listen to Solid's ramblings any longer, Nick closed in quickly, lashing out with his keyblade in extremely fast strikes, giving Solid no chance to react or counter.

After a few more strikes, Nick raised his free hand and unleashed a geyser of darkness underneath that dragged Solid into the air. The instant Solid began to fall down, Nick readied Team Formation like he would a baseball bat.

"Maylin, over to you!" Nick shouted, swinging Team Formation and smashing Solid through the air.

Despite her initial shock, Maylin quickly got the message and raised Counterpoint to shoot a powerful Firaga blast into Solid's chest that sent him tumbling back to the ground.

"You... you _honestly_ think you've won?!" Solid shouted, opening his grimoire and preparing a spell of his own. _"Water Restraining Magic: Sea Serpent Twine!"_

A large coil of serpent-shaped water energy appeared and began to coil around Nick's body, but Maylin simply cast Reflega around him and shattered it the instant the Sea Serpent Twine constricted around it, throwing the magic back at Solid and doing some decent damage in the process.

"So, Nick... are you still you under all that black?" Maylin tentatively asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," Nick answered. "To be frank, this kinda _feels_ like Anti-Form, even if I have complete control of myself like Shadow Form. All I can think of is that even though I've got my own inner darkness under so much better control, my unyielding rage at what Solid said must have triggered this Formchange."

"So many of these horrible family members _really_ don't seem to understand that badmouthing family is probably your biggest berserk button, eh, Nick?" Haruka teased.

"So, what are you gonna call _this_ one?" Maylin wondered.

After a few seconds of thought, Nick came up with an idea. "I'm calling it Rage Form."

"Accurate," Haruka giggled.

"STOP IGNORING ME, YOU PATHETIC SWINE!" Solid screamed, setting his sights on Noelle before rushing forward. _"Water Creation Magic: Slashing Sea Serpent!"_

Responding to Solid's command, a large water serpent began spinning around his body extremely fast, acting like a demented hula hoop that could cut down anything it touched.

"Try and get closer _now_, you wretches!" Solid cackled, intending to get closer and mutilate Noelle. He glanced upwards, expecting to see pure fear and regret in her eyes.

When only steely determination stared back at him, Solid hesitated, giving Noelle the moment she needed.

"_Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!"_ Noelle exclaimed, a gigantic water dragon bursting from her wand even as Maylin fired a Thunder spell at it to electrify it. The dual-element attack roared forward faster than Solid could protect himself, ravaging him even as it carried him through the air before slamming him into the ground and exploding in a glorious eruption of water and lightning.

When it was all over, Solid was sprawled out on the ground, swirls in his eyes and disbelief in his mind.

"H-How?" Solid squeaked. "H-How did you get so strong? It literally... makes no sense..."

"That's what you get for assuming Noelle was gonna stay the same way she was as a kid, you bastard," Maylin shot back.

"One stuck-up jackass reality checked," Nick quipped as he released Rage Form and returned to normal.

"Wow, that felt good," Noelle sighed. "I never thought payback could be so uplifting..."

"Hey, you overcame your childhood tormentor and showed him who's _really_ boss around here," Haruka stated. "I'd say that's _definitely_ something to feel good about."

"All right, will somebody clean up the mess so we can get back to whatever we were doing?" Yami proclaimed.

"Nice one, Noelle!" Asta exclaimed. "You _wrecked_ him! I knew you could do it!"

Noelle was about to shift back into her usual defense mode for when Asta complimented her, but could only manage a blush in response. She was very thankful when Asta moved away to chat with the other Black Bulls.

"Awwww, you still like him, Noelle?" Maylin giggled.

"W-what WHAT?!" Noelle immediately stuttered. "H-How could I e-e-EVER like that commoner _oaf_?!"

"Noelle, it's useless to deny it," Haruka replied. "When it comes to love and crushes, Maylin can see right through excuses and deflections."

"It's just how I am!" Maylin laughed.

Noelle shuffled a few times before answering. "Honestly... I want to tell him," Noelle admitted. "But he's so devoted to that nun from his village... it's _really_ frustrating..."

"Um, does Asta even know that nuns literally _aren't allowed to get married_ (even if that's a seriously stupid restriction)?" Nick wondered.

"Well, Asta's pretty stubborn," Vanessa stated. "We've tried a lot of ways to get him to see that Noelle's the only girl for him, but..."

A pained grunt caused everyone to snap to attention as Solid began to pick himself back up again, despite struggling to stay on his feet.

"How are you still standing, you freakball?!" Maylin shouted.

"I... I am a Magic Knight," Solid growled, shakily opening his grimoire. "A Magic Knight of the illustrious Silver-Winged Great Eagles! I will _not_ bow down to a bunch of _commoners_ who think they're better than me just because they have stupid _keys_!"

Solid set his hatred-soaked gaze on Noelle, his intent very clear.

"And _you_, my _darling_ Noelle, will _not _be leaving this wretched place alive!" Solid shouted, darkness beginning to shroud his body and grimoire.

"Oh, shit, do you guys feel that?!" Maylin gasped, summoning Counterpoint and Formchanging into Magic Blasters.

"That's _definitely_ the same kind of darkness that Adam was emanating," Nick stated, summoning Starlight and Formchanging into Second Form S.

"Which means we should probably take him down real quick-like," Haruka responded, summoning Divine Rose and Formchanging into Rose Whip.

"Ever content to stay in our shadow," Solid ranted. "Ever content to be worth _absolutely nothing_! If that's how you feel, then I will grant you that wish and _make you into nothing_! Raise your damned book and _prepare to die, Noelle_!"

Noelle steeled herself for the battle to come, only to look on in confusion as Solid stumbled forward, his rage replaced by utter disbelief.

Nick glanced ahead and saw that Lily had reappeared, stabbing Void Gear into Solid's back when he wasn't paying attention. Solid collapsed to his knees, letting out one last gasp of shock as his body dissolved completely, leaving behind only a glowing heart, stained as black as the night sky. The heart floated over to Lily, who caught it with her free hand.

"And _now_ I have what I came for," Lily giggled. "This has definitely been fun, but now it's time I take my leave. While I do that, you can all play with my friend. Have fun..."

As Lily walked into a dark corridor, she snapped her fingers and a large Unversed appeared in front of the Black Bulls. This particular creature was a humanoid Unversed wearing a dark blue graduation gown with numerous intersecting bronze highlights, along with large cuffs, a white ascot, and black fingerless gloves, its legs unseen due to the gown. It had a cube-shaped, steel-blue head topped off by a flat square crest resembling a mortarboard cap with a tassel shaped like a small purple sphere attached to a gold crescent moon. Its large red eyes were set in a seemingly happy expression, and it was also carrying a massive, pink-lined book.

"Okay, not exactly what I was expecting," Maylin quipped.

**("Guess Who Is Back" by Kumi Koda plays)**

"Um, are we going to comment on the fact that _this thing has a grimoire?!_" Asta shouted, summoning his own grimoire and drawing his two swords.

The Mimic Master responded by flipping its book open and raising it up in challenge.

"I think it wants to throw down," Nick quipped. "So let's throw down already!"

Nick charged into action, slashing at the Mimic Master's body a few times before leaping back to avoid a wide smack from its book, then lunging back with a Stride Break followed by an Explosion.

While the Mimic Master was stumbling, Maylin began to glide around the area and fire shots from her Magic Blasters while Haruka stayed out of range and bombarded the Mimic Master with lashes from Rose Whip.

After a couple seconds, the Mimic Master lunged into the air and began spiraling around the field, trailing fire behind it as it spun around, forcing the trinity to stay on the move.

Noelle kept her wand trained on the flailing Mimic Master, waiting for an opportunity. When it flew into Nick, who only saved himself from a nasty burn by pushing the Mimic Master back with a Ripple Drive, Noelle capitalized.

"_Water Magic: Sea Dragon's Waterball!"_ Noelle chanted, a series of large spheres of water erupting from the end of her wand and slamming into the Mimic Master, extinguishing its flames and allowing Nick to go back on the offensive, landing three overhead strikes before finishing with an Ancient Light that sent the Mimic Master reeling.

"Did we get it?" Luck asked.

In response to that, the Mimic Master began to surround itself with a barrier of pages from its book while firing lasers of light and darkness from the book in many different directions. Magna simply swung his flaming bat to deflect any lasers that came his was while Gauche unleashed Mirror Magic: Full Reflection to absorb a cluster of lasers and send them back at the Mirror Master.

Once the laser barrage was over, the Mimic Master began to fly around while trailing fire, only this time it was moving too fast for Noelle to put out with Sea Dragon's Waterball, forcing Asta to go on the offensive and raise both of his swords to defend himself as the Mimic Master charged towards him, only to slash at the large Unversed, his mana-absorbing swords dissipating the Mimic Master's fiery protection.

Asta didn't give the Mimic Master any time to be surprised, ravaging the Unversed's body with a flurry of wild slashes from both swords. Before Asta could deal a finishing move, however, the Mimic Master disappeared into its book and retreated.

"Hey, no fair hiding!" Maylin taunted, launching a Firaga spell from Counterpoint that flew through the air and exploded on contact with the book, forcing the Mimic Master to show himself again.

"Methinks book boy's on the ropes," Haruka stated.

"Then let's end this thing!" Maylin proclaimed.

However, the Mimic Master clearly wasn't going down without a fight, choosing to rush towards Nick with its book wide open, a spotlight shining from its pages onto him.

"H-Hey, what's the big idea?!" Nick growled.

Light surrounded the Mimic Master for a few seconds until it let off a great pulse of energy and vanished, multiple pages scattering across the battlefield.

And from a few of those pages came perfect clones of Nick, each one of them wielding an off-color Kingdom Key.

"What the _hell_?!" Maylin shouted.

"So _that's_ this thing's gimmick," Haruka quipped.

The clones began to advance threateningly on the trinity until Grey planted herself firmly in front of them.

"Y-you... I w-won't let you h-hurt my f-_friends_!" Grey shouted, opening her grimoire to chant a spell. _"Transformation Magic: Perfect Copy!"_

Grey's body was surrounded by light that eventually converged on her and transformed her into a perfect copy of Nick, much like the Mimic Master's clones. But unlike the clones, Grey's Kingdom Key was the correct color.

"Let's take them all down!" Grey exclaimed, having clearly picked up some of Nick's personality during the transformation.

"Now you're talkin' my lingo!" Nick responded as he and Grey charged in to attack the clones.

Though the clones were as strong as Nick himself was, they seemingly couldn't take much punishment, as each clone was destroyed after only a few hits.

Grey even utilized Second Form alongside Nick to rapidly deplete the clones' numbers until only one remained.

The clone attempted to cast Thundaga on them, but Maylin solved that problem by casting Reflega around Nick and Grey so that the spell bounced back at the clone and destroyed it instantly, forcing the Mimic Master to return to normal.

"Hey, it's wobbling," Yami noted.

"That must be our cue! Grey, let's get in there and finish this creep off together!" Nick exclaimed.

The Mimic Master attempted to strike back with its book, but Nick swung Starlight out to knock the book away, Grey lashed out with a Hurricane Period to destroy the book, and Nick and Grey ripped forward with a dual Zantetsuken through the Mimic Master's body.

After violently trembling for a few seconds, the Mimic Master fell flat on its face before exploding into particles of darkness.

"And that's all she wrote," Maylin giggled as she released her Formchange. "One more pain-in-the-keester dark monster cooked well done."

"Did you say _cooked_?!" Charmy gasped.

"Here she goes again," Noelle sighed.

"Hey, we just beat a snippy Knight _and_ a giant monster!" Charmy exclaimed. "I'd say that _definitely_ calls for a feast!"

"W-wait, wait, what exactly happened to Solid?" Noelle wondered.

"His heart's been taken," Nick explained. "The enemy we're after, the Dark Mother, is looking for hearts of both pure light and pure darkness in order to forge the χ-blade, basically the ultimate keyblade that all the others are modeled after, and plunge the worlds into eternal darkness. We're trying to find the candidates for those hearts and keep them safe, but it seems like she's already got two dark hearts. Your brother's heart must have been so stained by darkness thanks to his contempt for you that it made him a perfect candidate. Us beating his ass beforehand probably only made it worse, honestly."

"Is it possible to bring him back by restoring his heart somehow?" Noelle asked. "He _is_ still my brother, despite the way he treats me."

"That would all depend on if we can defeat the Dark Mother before she forges the χ-blade," Maylin answered.

"Which also means we've got work to do," Nick responded. "A keyblade wielder's job is never done, sadly."

"Well, come back and visit anytime you want," Vanessa giggled. "We'd be happy to have you here."

"Yeah, maybe next time we can have a _real_ battle!" Luck laughed.

"Hey, got another muffin for ya!" Charmy stated, handing Nick a much larger chocolate muffin than the first one she'd given him. "Maylin told me you really like chocolate muffins. Oh, and here's a little good luck charm for your travels!"

Charmy then handed Nick a small trinket shaped like, of all things, a chocolate muffin. Despite the oddity, Nick attached the token to his keyblade, and slashed through the empty air, his keyblade transforming in mid-swing. This new keyblade had a blade and handle that resembled Asta's Demon-Dweller Sword with a long water dragon coiling around the blade and ending in the dragon's head at the tip, the teeth resembled an open grimoire, the handle guard resembled two curved lines of fluffy sheep wool connecting to a hilt shaped like the symbol of the Black Bulls, and the muffin token was connected to the keyblade by a keychain made of meatballs. The words _Magic Grimoire_ came to Nick's mind as he studied the keyblade.

"Hey, maybe we can cook some more next time you're in the neighborhood?" Charmy asked, standing on her tiptoes so she could give Nick a hug. "That was honestly really fun!"

"Oh, trust me, Charmy, with all your ideas for recipes, we'll be stopping by pretty often on our travels," Nick admitted. "Right, girls?"

"Oh, _hell_ yeah!" Maylin proclaimed. "I'd _definitely_ come back to dine at Charmy's Bistro!"

Charmy couldn't help but cheer at the name. "Ooh, I gotta think up some new recipes!" Charmy exclaimed, rushing off to her bistro table to start brainstorming, leaving the Black Bulls to start laughing.

"What have you done?" Magna groaned.

"What? It's a legit interesting idea," Haruka answered. "Besides, I know you're all curious as to what kind of food she'll make."

"Okay, you got me there," Magna admitted, and the rest of the Black Bulls laughed even harder.

* * *

"Okay, I _know_ I've been through this way before," Marie groaned as she once again crossed a large stone bridge she'd most definitely already crossed at least five times. "_Really_ wish I had a map for this place..."

However, Marie continued to feel a slight twinge in her heart that seemed to be pulling her down this particular path.

_I wonder if it's because the lady I'm sharing my heart with is guiding me, gently nudging me towards the others,_ Marie thought.

After crossing the bridge for no doubt the sixth time, Marie slid down a ramp created by the coasting waves on this side of the Dark Ocean and down into a large open field.

Naturally, Neoshadows and Darkballs appeared from the depths to harass Marie.

"Of _course_," Marie sighed, summoning Moonlight to her hands and going to town on the Neoshadows that were spiraling through the air towards her.

While she was dealing with the Neoshadows, one of the Darkballs began to chomp its way forward, intent on taking a bite out of Marie.

As she spun around to deal with that issue, Marie impulsively summoned her old Darkgnaw keyblade to her free hand and swung it to deflect the Darkball's bite attack.

"W-wait, wait, how did I summon my _other_ keyblade?!" Marie gasped. "I thought..."

_Oh, wait, right, I have another heart inside of my own. That's how Nick was able to wield two keyblades outside of his Drive Forms,_ Marie thought, deciding to sweat the small stuff later, after she'd eviscerated these Heartless.

One errant Neoshadow tried to sneak up behind Marie, only to be met with the business end of both of her keyblades.

When the Heartless were cleared out, Marie noticed the large building just ahead of her, nestled at the very center of this large area.

"Looks like the remains of a lost world," Marie quipped as she briskly jogged over to the destroyed building to examine it. It appeared to be a large school of sorts, with the main tower displaying the Japanese kanji for "fire" on its side. To the far left of the building was a large tree with a swing dangling from it.

_It is so sad to see._

_Yeah, no kidding. Despite everything we've been able to do, some worlds just simply couldn't make it in time,_ Marie answered back to the heart within her. _Hopefully that won't be a problem when we've deep-sixed the Dark Mother. ...oops, I-I didn't mean to..._

_It is all right, my dear. Honestly, the Meter I used to know is undoubtedly long gone by this point._

_Say, Freya, what exactly happened that caused Meter to go bonkers?_

Marie would have expected an answer had she not felt Freya's heart tensing up. Before she could ask why, Marie realized that something was out of place.

"There's something behind us, isn't there?" Marie asked, slowly turning around and glancing at what was waiting for her. "Oh, I hate when I'm right sometimes."

Floating just behind Marie was a muscular, humanoid creature with dark purple skin, red feet tips, and small, dark grey wings on its back along with an orange wing on each of its elbows. The beast had a long tail ending in a silver, circular pendulum-like blade, small glowing yellow eyes, and two large, conical, dark purple spikes on either side of its head, as well as two horns with orange tips on its head that connected to each other to form a heart shape. It was carrying an ornate, scalloped orange sword with a grey cross guard, black edges, and the kanji for "hard core" written on the hilt of its blade.

Before Marie could get a word in edgewise, the Orcus swung its blade in an uppercut so fierce that it sent Marie flying back into the outer wall of the school building, actually crashing through it.

As the Orcus prepared to move in for the kill, dark energy exploded outwards from the school building wall, shattering to completely to reveal a pissed-off Marie, shrouded in a black light and dual-wielding Darkgnaw and Moonlight.

"Man, why does my luck _seriously_ have to _suck_?!" Marie shouted as she leaped over the rubble and rushed forward to challenge the Orcus.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Magic Grimoire  
**_Base Strength: _**6  
**_Base Magic: _**9  
**_Ability: _**MP Thrift **(Decrease MP cost by 20%. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Spell Shield** (Transform your keyblade into a grimoire to unleash crowd-controlling spells and protect yourself from all angles.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Elemental Force** (Transform your keyblade into dual magic wands to unleash devastating magical attacks.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with an emphasis on magic, representing the mystical skills of the Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Darkgnaw M  
**_Base Strength: _**8  
**_Base Magic: _**5  
**_Ability: _**Combo Boost **(Increases ground combo damage in proportion to the length of the combos. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Dark Fear** (Transform your keyblade into orbs of darkness for long-range bombardment and shadowy counter-attacks.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Shadowbreaker** (Transform your keyblade into crystals of light and darkness for ultra-fast and wide-reaching attacks of both opposing elements.)  
_Description: _Marie's keyblade, representing the path she once walked as a warrior of the darkness.

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: It seems like there's a new Pretty Cure team in this world!

Maylin: Really? Did they just gain their powers?

Haruka: From what I can tell, they've only had theirs for a few months, as opposed to the others.

Nick: Honestly, I'm really digging the space and celestial theme they've got going.

Haruka: But they also have to deal with evil _aliens_.

Maylin: Hey, one of these Pretty Cures is an alien! Let's not offend the precious space angel, please?

Haruka: Hold on, just a second. Is... is that...

Nick, Maylin, and Haruka: _Prince Phobos?!_

Nick: Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "The Lights in the Sky Are Stars"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	4. The Lights in the Sky Are Stars

"What the heck is _that_?" Nick asked as the Gummi Ship flew past a rather strange sight, that being a large sphere of wind surrounded by swift-moving asteroids.

"Honestly, no clue," Haruka answered, flying as close as she could to investigate. "It doesn't look like anything I've seen out here."

"Whatever it is, I suggest we stay away for a bit," Maylin replied. "I've just got this weird feeling that if we go in there without a specialized ship, whatever monster's waiting inside is probably gonna tear us apart."

"Wait, specialized ship?" Nick asked. "That's a new'un to me."

"It's actually something we thought of during our own travels," Haruka explained while piloting the ship towards a curved rock formation that resembled a giant mass of Fluorite. "Sometimes, there's Heartless ships out here in the Ocean Between that are _really_ powerful, strong enough that our standard Gummi Ship, different forms or not, would probably get toasted."

"So, sometimes, while we're parked at Candracar, the Oracle assists us with building really cool custom Gummi Ships that specialize in different attributes that we feel are necessary for challenging these strong ships," Maylin stated.

"If we ever stop back at Candracar, since that's where they're waiting, we'll show you some of the majestic brickhouses we've created, Nick," Haruka quipped as she fired the ship's laser cannons at the mass of Fluorite, breaking chunks off of it so that the Gummi Ship's tractor beam could bring them on board.

Past another random cluster of Heartless ships, Maylin noticed a large structure resembling a hilly, seaside town flanked by a big pink rocket ship decorated with stars and planets.

"New world ho!" Maylin called out, causing Haruka to divert her attention from the mass of Fluorite and pilot the Gummi Ship towards the new world...

...only for something to rocket past them and towards the world in question.

"Oh, what the _hell_?!" Maylin shouted. "I thought we were _done_ with that after that one that went down to Shantae's world!"

"Hey, at least it's giving us an excuse for a unique fight," Haruka admitted. "Either way, let's follow that thing and shoot it down."

Haruka transformed the Gummi Ship into Highwind Mode before piloting it down towards the new world, all in pursuit of the renegade ship.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The trinity has arrived in Mihoshi Town, the home of a brand new team of Pretty Cures, but naturally, not all is well. The Notraiders are stepping up their attacks, guided by a black-hooded figure no doubt part of the Seekers of Darkness. Are the Star Twinkle Pretty Cures out of their league, especially when it comes to dealing with the dark whims of one of Candracar's most heinous foes?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World: **Today, we're stopping in the world of Star Twinkle Pretty Cure, the most recent Pretty Cure team to show up. This story takes place after episode 18, but before episode 19, because my plans for this episode were mostly made before Cure Cosmo was a thing.

* * *

Episode 4: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars

"Here, have a Star Donut!" Hikaru Hoshina giggled as she handed Lala Hagoromo one of said donuts from her bag, which Lala happily munched on. _She really loves those things,_ Hikaru thought.

"So, your mom's finally getting her manga published?" Elena Amamiya asked. "That's awesome, Hikaru!"

"I'm happy for mom," Hikaru answered. "She worked so hard on it, after all."

"By the way, lun," Lala asked. "There was this strange person in our class today, and he was speaking a very weird language, lun..."

"He was actually speaking French," Madoka Kaguya replied. "I think he's an exchange student."

"Exchange... student, lun?" Lala wondered.

"Oh, a student from another country," Elena answered. "It happens a lot, like when someone wants to experience what school's like in a different culture."

The group's discussion was quickly cut off when they noticed the large, metallic ship flying over the city, which resembled a circular, UFO-like center ship with three lengthy "legs" on the end of it.

"What the _heck_?!" Hikaru shouted.

"That looks like trouble, lun," Lala stated, reaching into her pocket to retrieve her Star Color Pendant and Star Color Pen. "Should we transform, lun?"

"Probably a good idea," Elena proclaimed.

Just as the others brought out their Pendants and Pens, they saw another, much smaller, ship flying through the sky, this one apparently chasing the much larger satellite-like ship from earlier.

"There's another one?" Madoka asked.

"It looks like the smaller ship is attacking the larger ship, lun," Lala realized. "Let's get moving, lun!"

The four girls got into position, raising their Pendants and Pens in unison. _"Star Color Pendant, Color Charge!"_

The Schwarzgeist eventually slowed to a stop near the hill where a large pink rocket-ship could be seen, decorated with stars and even a pink bow at the tip of the rocket.

"All right, you've gone far enough!" Maylin exclaimed. "Haruka, let's commence the shootout!"

"Roger that," Haruka proclaimed, reaching out to press an orange button on the command deck. "Switching from pursuit to engagement."

As the Gummi Ship approached the Schwarzgeist, the ship shifted slightly until it was facing the Schwarzgeist and slowly circling it.

The Schwarzgeist responded by opening the "wings" on its main structure and firing a salvo of orange lasers from ports on its underside. The lasers flew up and then fell down in a rain of beams, forcing the Gummi Ship to maneuver through the small spaces between the beams before they could return fire.

"You see any weak points on this thing, Haruka?" Maylin asked.

Haruka quickly glanced down at the readouts on the control panel before rolling the Gummi Ship away from a salvo of rockets fired from the Schwarzgeist's "wings". "The readout's detecting at least one: the connecting joint between the two halves of the ship," Haruka answered.

"Then let's give this thing a _splitting_ headache," Nick teased. "Switching to Falcon Mode!"

Nick dramatically pushed the Big Red Button, and the Gummi Ship transformed into its offensive-based Falcon Mode, complete with two small Teeny Ships flanking it.

The Schwarzgeist continued its attack by releasing three silver spheres that extended neon-blue deflector shields around them, moving in differing patterns in order to disrupt the Gummi Ship's firing patterns.

"Okay, this one's smart," Maylin quipped. "And _that's annoying me_."

Haruka steered the Gummi Ship towards the gaps in the shields, squeaking shots through when she could.

"Maybe we should destroy those shields first so we can have a clear shot at the big guy," Nick stated.

"Good idea," Haruka answered, concentrating her fire on the orbs in the center of the shields, which exploded after only a few shots to each.

"Let's get down to business," Maylin proclaimed. "Hit that thing with everything we've got!"

"Roger!" Haruka exclaimed.

The Gummi Ship and the Teeny Ships all began to charge their weapons as the Schwarzgeist continued to bombard them with its rain of lasers.

"Fully charged!" Haruka stated.

"Let 'em have it!" Nick shouted.

"_FALCON BURST!"_ Maylin exclaimed dramatically.

The Gummi Ship and Teeny Ships all fired off their charged payload at the same time, the blasts combining into a large silver ball of sparkling light that screamed through the early day sky and slammed into the middle point of the Schwarzgeist. Upon impact, the Falcon Burst (a Maylin-copyrighted name) exploded violently and decimated the enemy ship in dramatic fashion, its severed halves floating away from each other before exploding into light particles that quickly faded away.

"And that's how it's done!" Maylin proclaimed. "Another giant Heartless ship served up with a side of kabooms!"

"Hey, I think we attracted some company," Haruka quipped, pointing down to the street, towards the approaching Pretty Cures. "Let's disembark and say hi."

The Gummi Ship slowly descended to the ground just as the four Pretty Cures stopped running, allowing the trinity to disembark from the ship. Haruka typed in a command on her wristwatch to make the Gummi Ship fly back into the sky until they were ready to leave.

"I... take it you were impressed?" Haruka laughed.

"That was a _really_ cool ship you guys had!" Cure Star giggled. "Are you three from _space_?"

"Not _quite_," Nick stated. "That's actually quite a long story, if you could believe it."

"And I'm willing to hazard a guess that you're all Pretty Cures?" Maylin wondered.

Cure Milky was the first of the group to react with shock to that simple statement. "H-How did you know that we're Pretty Cures, lun?" Cure Milky responded.

"Well, we've worked with a bunch of other Pretty Cures before we came here, so we kinda know the visual cues to look for," Nick admitted.

"Wait, are you talking about all those Pretty Cures that came to journey with us when we went to space that one time?" Cure Soleil wondered, remembering that long adventure to uncover the origin of the Miracle Lights.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, some of them did talk about the 'wielders of the keyblade' that they've helped in their own adventures," Cure Selene responded. "Would they happen to be you, by any chance?"

Nick, Maylin and Haruka all glanced at each other before nodding in assent and summoning their keyblades.

"That's AWESOME!" Cure Star exclaimed. "Wait, though, aren't there supposed to be four of you?"

"My sister's out on her own adventure," Nick answered. "Things are a _little_ more serious this time."

The four Star Twinkle Pretty Cures touched their Star Color Pendants and returned to their normal selves.

"Well, we should probably introduce ourselves," Hikaru stated. She had pink eyes, and hot pink hair with an ahoge sticking upwards in a curl styled in twin tails with a blue hairband on her head, with a yellow star and two little circles on the left side and small yellow hair beads at the bottom. "I'm Hikaru Hoshina, also known as Cure Star."

"My name is Lala Hagoromo, lun," Lala stated. She had turquoise eyes and short, dark turquoise hair with one pale blue and one light pink streak on the right side, light pink buttons with a magenta heart in the center on the sides of her head, with her antennae dangling from them with small golden yellow orbs at the end. She also had pointy ears, which meant she was most likely an alien. "Nice to meet you, lun."

"I'm Elena Amamiya," Elena proclaimed. She had purple eyes with a beauty mark under her left eye, and wavy golden blonde hair with braids hanging on both sides of her face, along with a deep orange headband. "Good to finally meet you!"

"My name is Madoka Kaguya," Madoka proclaimed. She had blue eyes and long purple hair with dark magenta ribbons on each side of her head, stray strands hanging from each side of her face. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"My name's Nick Kelly, and I'm pretty much the 'leader' of our troupe, shall we say," Nick stated. "Of the three of us, I'm the balanced one in terms of my fighting style."

"Maylin Rae's the name, and I'm co-leader of the gang!" Maylin giggled, twirling Counterpoint in her hands. "Of the three of us, I'm the group's magic master!"

They call me Haruka Rose, and I'm essentially the navigator, since I _did_ build the Gummi Ship," Haruka proclaimed. "Of the three of us, I'm the heavy hitter."

Hikaru reached into her bag and pulled out another Star Donut. She _had_ splurged today, after all. "Here, have a Star Donut! They're Mihoshi Town's specialty treat!" Hikaru giggled.

Just as Hikaru was about to hand off the Star Donut, a powerful gust of wind buffeted the entire group, threatening to blow them away until Maylin raised a Reflect barrier to shield the group. Hikaru dived for the falling Star Donut, just barely catching it before it hit the ground.

"That was close..." Hikaru sighed dramatically.

"All right, who's the wise guy?!" Maylin challenged.

The answer to that question floated down from the sky, revealing a tall alien woman with pointy ears, apparently resembling a tengu, with light red skin, gold eyes, and slicked-back amaranth-colored hair. She was wearing a black-and-yellow tengu-shaped masquerade mask with an elongated nose, a black choker attached with a red oval along with caplet sleeves lined by sunset orange ruffles on her shoulders, with sleeves attached to dragonfly-shaped wings. Her outfit consisted of a bright red one-piece bathing suit attached to a coat tail, long black gloves and boots with dark red soles and high heels, and she carried a fan with seven fuschia leaves and a yellow handle.

"Well, well, look who came crawling back," Elena taunted.

"Don't think we'll be showing you any mercy, _especially_ after what you did to Hikaru's mother, lun!" Lala shouted.

"Oh, you'd like to think that, wouldn't you, you _wretched_ Pretty Cures?" Tenjo laughed.

"Oh, like we haven't heard _that_ line more times than humanly countable," Maylin quipped as the trinity took up a fighting stance.

"What's your game, tengu lady?" Nick shouted.

"You've worked with Pretty Cures before, boy, so you should know that what we desire is to dominate this universe _and_ rid ourselves of these damnable Pretty Cures once and for all!" Tenjo exclaimed. "But considering that you're here now, I figured I'd soften you all up before going for the finishing blow. Nottorei squad, advance!"

A whole squadron of alien-like soldiers with dark grey antennas on their head appeared in a flash of darkness and began to march forward in a strict formation.

"Oh, lovely, she brought the mook squad," Maylin sighed.

"Let's just waste 'em all and move on," Haruka answered.

**("Star Color Pendant, Color Charge!" by Eimi Naruse, Konomi Kohara, Kiyono Yasuno & Mikako Komatsu plays)**

"Let's suit up again, everybody!" Hikaru exclaimed, to which she, Lala, Elena, and Madoka once again reached for their Star Color Pendants.

"We'll keep 'em busy for you," Nick proclaimed, raising Magic Grimoire and casting a Thundara spell to clear away a bunch of Nottorei and keep them away from the Pretty Cures while they transformed.

"Much appreciated, lun!" Lala proclaimed.

Their pendants opened, allowing them to summon their respective Star Color Pens and press them onto the pendants.

"_Star Color Pendant, Color Charge!"_ all four Cures shouted before beginning their transformations.

"Wow, are they _singing_?" Maylin asked as she wiped out another row of Nottorei with a rapid-fire Watera blast. "I mean, the Happiness Charge girls sang during their ultra finisher, but..."

"Yeah, I never thought I'd see Pretty Cures singing during their _transformation_," Haruka admitted, leaping into a crowd of Nottorei and slamming Divine Rose into the ground, unleashing a large pink-tinted shockwave that instantly vaporized the Nottorei around her.

"Honestly, they've got pretty dang good chops, if you ask me," Nick quipped as Magic Grimoire started glowing brightly. "Well, well, what do we have here? _Formchange: Spell Shield!_"

Nick's keyblade disintegrated into a bunch of pages before spiraling around him and reforming into a large spellbook much like the Clover Kingdom's grimoires.

A row of Nottorei began to march towards Nick, but he just raised his grimoire and cast a Thundaga spell, surprised to see that instead of a rain of lightning bolts from above, it was a giant bolt that fired outwards and swept across the Nottorei, instantly wiping out any that the bolt touched.

"Oh, _sweet_!" Nick shouted, moving into the center of the crowd and casting Firaga, causing four large, blazing meteorites to spin around him and eviscerate anything that dared come closer.

Two of the Nottoreis lunged towards Nick from behind, but he raised his book and raised a spherical barrier around himself to protect him from the surprise attack.

"Sorry," Nick taunted as he cast Blizzaga, now a spiraling snowstorm around his body that froze any nearby Nottorei in blocks of ice so Maylin could pick them off from afar with more spells.

"Wow, it's like magic festival over here, huh?" Maylin giggled.

"No kidding," Nick quipped.

It didn't take much longer to wipe out the remaining Nottorei, and just in time for the Cures to finish transforming.

"_The twinkling star that shines throughout the universe, Cure Star!"_ Hikaru, now Cure Star, exclaimed.

"_The milky way stretching across the heavens, Cure Milky!"_ Lala, now Cure Milky, exclaimed.

"_Lighting up the sky with sparkling heat, Cure Soleil!"_ Elena, now Cure Soleil, exclaimed.

"_Lighting up the night sky with the secretive moonlight, Cure Selene!"_ Madoka, now Cure Selene, exclaimed.

The four Cures leaped backwards before landing together and performing their post-henshin poses together. _"Lights shining across our world, guide us to the edge of the known universe! Star Twinkle Pretty Cure!"_

"Thanks for waiting, by the way," Nick taunted even as Tenjo contemplated her next action.

"This is usually where I'd retreat and plan our next attack," Tenjo stated. "But I'm feeling particularly ballsy today, so how about I take you on, Pretty Cures?!"

Tenjo flew downwards and opened her fan to slash at the trinity, only for Cure Star to leap into the path of the attack.

"I don't think so! _Pretty Cure Star Punch!_" Cure Star shouted, her pendant shining and creating a big yellow star that began rotating quickly. Spinning her arm around to create momentum, Cure Star then thrust her arm forward, punching the star straight into Tenjo, driving her backwards and giving Cure Milky the opportunity to move in.

"Take _this_, lun! _Pretty Cure Milky Shock!_" Cure Milky exclaimed, her pendant shining and creating a large green heart which was absorbed by the star on her headband. Cure Milky spun around, even as Tenjo rushed towards her, and fired off two teal lightning bolts from her antennae to electrocute Tenjo.

"That's my cue," Nick quipped, moving in and attacking the stunned Tenjo with his grimoire, the pages flying out to strike Tenjo in different forms with each swing of the book, like a blade, a staff, and even a sharp, bladed disc.

Nick finished his barrage by casting Waterga, which manifested as a gigantic waterspout that sucked Tenjo into it before exploding outwards and sending her flying.

Tenjo cut a backflip in mid-air to regain her posture before slashing her fan through the air and sending a storm of razor-sharp feathers towards the group.

Cure Soleil dodged through the feathers even as Maylin continued to unleash Fire spells one after the other to blast the feathers away.

"How about we fight fire _with_ fire? _Pretty Cure Soleil Shoot!_" Cure Soleil exclaimed, her pendant shining and creating a large, orange-red fireball far above her. After a second of windup, Cure Soleil jumped into the air, doing a backflip of her own to soccer-kick the fireball into Tenjo's body, sending her tumbling.

"I believe it is my turn now. _Pretty Cure Selene Arrow!_" Cure Selene exclaimed, her pendant shining and creating a light blue heart that floated up and twisted to form a blue crescent moon. After Cure Selene caught the crescent moon, it transformed into a large bow, allowing her to fire a powerful arrow of white light towards Tenjo, causing her to fall out of her float and crash ungainly to the ground.

"Unless you want some more, you'd better get lost, lun!" Cure Milky exclaimed, holding her fists up and preparing another Milky Shock to show that she meant business.

After picking herself up, Tenjo sheathed her fan and floated into the air. "Well, I've had my fun, so I'll concede for now," Tenjo proclaimed. "But don't think this is the last you'll see of me, you wretched do-gooders!"

Her words said, Tenjo snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash of darkness, small black stars falling from where she'd vanished and disintegrating upon touching the ground.

"Okay, who was little miss tengu?" Maylin wondered after the Pretty Cures reverted to their normal selves.

"That was one of the Notraiders, lun," Lala explained. "They're trying to drown the universe in darkness by taking the Princess Star Color Pens, lun."

"The Star Princesses apparently keep the universe in balance, and if they were taken or corrupted, all of the universe's stars would fade away, and..." Hikaru stated.

"That means bad stuff, right?" Haruka quipped.

"Exactly," Elena stated.

"We're still trying to repair Lala's rocket so we can return to space and search for the remaining Pens," Madoka explained. "It's sort of like our base of operations when we're doing Pretty Cure stuff."

"By Lala's rocket, you mean the large pink one we passed by while we were attacking that giant satellite ship, right?" Nick asked.

"Exactly, lun! Follow us, lun," Lala laughed, guiding the entire group back to her ship, unaware that someone was watching them from far away.

"So, they're the ones I've heard so much about..."

* * *

"Wow, this is a pretty swank rocket ship," Haruka quipped as the team entered Lala's rocket and marveled at everything that was inside.

"It's home, lun," Lala giggled. "Hopefully we can go back to my home planet soon, though, lun... I miss my family, lun..."

"_REPAIRS ARE CURRENTLY 85% COMPLETE,"_ a robotic voice resounded. _"IT WILL TAKE PRECISELY TWO MORE WEEKS OF CONSISTENT WORK TO FINISH REPAIRS."_

"D-Did... did your ship just talk?!" Maylin stuttered.

"Oh, that's just its AI," Hikaru answered. "Everyone on Lala's home planet uses artificial intelligence to do lots and lots of things."

"_NEW LIFEFORMS DETECTED,"_ the voice stated. _"ARE YOU FRIENDLY OR ANTAGONISTIC?"_

"Hey, no need to worry, we're all friends here," Nick answered.

"_WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME OF STAR GLIDERS TO PASS THE TIME?"_ the voice asked. _"THERE IS A VALUABLE PRIZE AT STAKE."_

"Star Gliders?" Nick asked.

"It's a sort of training exercise Lala had installed recently," Elena explained. "Think of it like surfing through space."

"Sounds like fun," Maylin quipped. "You wanna give it a try, Nick?"

"Ah, heck it," Nick stated. "Let's give it a whirl!"

"All right, AI, activate the Star Gliders program, lun," Lala proclaimed.

"_ACKNOWLEDGMENT,"_ the voice responded.

Nick, Maylin, and Haruka were all surrounded by columns of light that reminded them of being virtualized into Lyoko, and when they could see again, they appeared to be floating in space, with many planets and star formations in the background. After a glance downwards, the trinity could see that they were all riding on surfboards themed after their keyblades, and they were all wearing wetsuits patterned with their "party role", as Maylin called it. Nick's was decorated with keyblades, Maylin's was decorated with many differently-shaped stars, and Haruka's was decorated with fists.

"Whoa, we really _are_ surfing in space!" Maylin laughed.

"So, what's the goal here, everyone?" Haruka asked.

"_Just start surfing and try to pull off as many tricks as you can to get a high score, lun!"_ Lala's voice stated. _"And be careful of incoming meteors, as they'll take points away if they hit you, lun!"_

"Sounds simple enough," Maylin stated.

"But there's usually more to it," Haruka quipped.

"All right, girls, let's shred some space waves!" Nick exclaimed.

"HELL YEAH!" Maylin and Haruka shouted.

Once the countdown had reached zero, the trinity took off through the course that had been generated for them, waiting for the perfect moment after sliding up the waves to leap off into the air and start performing tricks to earn points.

After about a minute, meteors began to fall towards them from random directions, as Lala had warned them about.

"Should we just avoid them?" Haruka asked, flipping over one meteor to do a double twist. "Because some of them seem to be flying too fast to avoid."

Nick rectified that problem by summoning Magic Grimoire to his hands and swinging it upwards to slice an incoming meteor into two harmless pieces that fell away from him.

"Okay, never mind," Maylin giggled.

The course weaved around three different planets and through a black hole, and eventually the trinity had returned to the start of the course, performing a victory pose upon reaching the finish line.

"_NEW HIGH SCORE ACHIEVED,"_ the AI proclaimed.

"_Nice job, lun! You just barely edged out my old record, lun!"_ Lala giggled. _"We're bringing you back now, lun."_

The galaxy around them faded away and returned them to the rocket, in their normal clothes.

"_EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE,"_ the AI stated. _"AS PROMISED, HERE IS YOUR PRIZE."_

A compartment opened from the ceiling area, dropping a small trinket into Nick's hands. Upon closer inspection, Nick quickly realized that it was an orange-shaded Heartbinder with a symbol that resembled a dragon's wing.

"Aw, it was just a charm?" Elena sighed.

"Hey, that's a Heartbinder!" Maylin gasped.

"What was a sentient rocket ship doing with a Heartbinder, of all things?" Haruka wondered.

"No clue, but hey, at least we got something out of the deal," Nick quipped, pocketing the Heartbinder for the moment. "That game was pretty fun."

"Wanna try and beat your high score?" Hikaru asked.

Before the trinity could ponder whether or not to give Star Gliders another go, they were distracted by the sound of a girl crying somewhere in the park.

The entire group came running to see a young girl crying by the swing set.

"What's the matter?" Madoka asked.

"Some meanie aliens took my doll!" the girl cried. "I just got my new Angelic Amber as a birthday present, and aliens took it away from me!"

"You think it could have been the Notraiders?" Haruka asked.

"This is low, even for them, lun," Lala growled before softening her expression to glance down at the girl. "We'll find your doll for you, lun."

"_And_ we'll take down whatever alien jerks took it from you!" Maylin proclaimed. "That's a promise!"

"Thank you so much!" the girl exclaimed.

"Just stay here at the park, and we'll come back as soon as we can with your doll," Nick stated. "Let's head out, team!"

The seven warriors of light set out into Mihoshi Town in search of the Notraiders who had taken the doll, just missing a shadowed figure watching them from the side of a nearby building.

"You know, I'm honestly surprised that we haven't run into any Heartless or Nobodies yet," Maylin quipped. "And yes, I know I might have jinxed it by saying it, but it's just weird that they haven't jumped us by now like they usually do."

"Maybe the darkness surrounding this world isn't as strong because its main source of darkness isn't even _from_ this Earth," Haruka theorized. "Therefore, much less Heartless, even in the presence of a keyblade wielder."

"I'm not sure," Nick thought. "Something about this curious absence bugs me..."

The audible sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath caused Nick to skid to an abrupt stop.

"Hey, what's wrong, lun?" Lala asked.

"GET DOWN!" Nick shouted. Everyone decided to take his advice and duck down, just in time, as the long blade of a katana sliced through the air where they had all just been.

"Okay, that's a new shtick," Elena proclaimed, standing back up to face down the black-robed figure just ahead of them, carrying an extremely long katana that rivaled Sephiroth's in length. "From sending foot soldiers at us to just flat-out trying to kill us. Definitely advancing in the world, eh?"

"Let me guess, you're one of Meter's 'Seekers of Darkness' or some crap like that?" Maylin growled, summoning Counterpoint to her hands.

"Hmmm..." the figure hummed. "Seekers of Darkness. I like that title. Yes, we shall adopt that name."

"Is this guy making any sense?" Hikaru wondered.

"Meter's plans continue to come together as we speak," the figure proclaimed, walking slowly forward. "You can fight all you want, but there is nothing you can do to stop the χ-blade from being forged."

"Oh, _sure_, that's what Meter would want you to think," Maylin shot back. "If she's so confident that she can forge the χ-blade, why hasn't she done so already?!"

"Preparations must be made, after all," the figure laughed. "Meter is accounting for every possible variable. I am merely here to usher her plan along."

Suddenly, Haruka realized something she hadn't a few seconds ago. "Hold on, you sound strangely familiar," Haruka stated.

"For two brats who have called Candracar their home for years, I assume you would have at least heard of me," the figure stated, reaching up to pull his hood down and reveal a twenty-something man with very long white-blond hair and brown eyes.

Even though Nick initially had no clue who this man was, as he'd never physically seen him in person, Maylin and Haruka gasped in shock when they finally recognized the face of one of Candracar's most persistent and heinous foes.

"_Prince Phobos!"_ Maylin and Haruka shouted.

"Correct," Phobos laughed. "We meet at last, keyblade wielders."

"Hold on just a second, didn't you fall into the void below Candracar when the Guardians yanked you out of Endarno?" Haruka asked.

"And for that matter, didn't Will _disintegrate your freaking soul_?!" Maylin shouted.

"Ah, yes, not one of my finest moments," Phobos admitted. "Thankfully, Meter used her power to pull me out of the void and recruit me to her cause. Now, I am one of the many searching for the pieces needed to forge the χ-blade."

Phobos lifted his katana up with ease and settled into a fighting stance. "There's just one problem... _you_."

Phobos dashed forward so quickly he appeared to have vanished. Thankfully, Nick was able to summon Magic Grimoire in time to block the attack.

"I've never actually seen you up close before, boy," Phobos cackled. "So consider this a great honor."

"What do _you_ know about honor?" Nick shot back. "I heard about everything you've done, by the way. You claim you're an honorable ruler, but you'd go so far as to murder your own _sister_ just so you can claim a throne that was never really yours to begin with."

Nick pushed back against Phobos' katana, to his mild surprise. "And, in case you haven't heard, family abusers like you piss me off something _fierce_."

Nick swung upwards to lift Phobos' katana away, then dashed in to attack with a Speed Slash, and finished off by leaping back a step, then lunging forward and swinging Magic Grimoire upwards to create two large rings of magic sparkles that exploded outwards from him and sent Phobos skidding down the street.

As Phobos recovered from Nick's new Magic Flash attack, he grinned wickedly. "Our first meeting and you're already throwing out accusations?" Phobos taunted. "That doesn't seem very much like the hero of light you carry yourself as."

"Um, in case you forgot, I'm buddies with the very Guardians that kicked your tailpipe _multiple times_, as well as Candracar's Oracle," Nick shot back, preferring not to listen to Phobos' ramblings and instead go back on the offensive, stabbing him in the chest with Magic Grimoire before switching over to Starlight and striking Phobos with a spinning sidewinder.

While all this was going on, Maylin leaped off of Nick's shoulders to sling a Thunder spell directly into Phobos' chest. Haruka followed this up by Formchanging into Rose Whip and lashing out at Phobos from a distance. Thankfully, Rose Whip was long enough to allow Haruka enough attack range to stay away from Phobos' giant blade.

"Ah, that's a new trick," Phobos laughed. "From what I remember, keyblade wielders could never actually transform their keyblades into something that's _not _a keyblade."

"You learn something new every day, _right_, jerkhole?!" Maylin growled, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and retreating so she could unload on Phobos from far away, knowing that she didn't want to be anywhere _near_ the business end of Phobos' katana.

Nick attempted to move in and strike Phobos while he was vulnerable, only for the prince to raise three gigantic pillars of dark flames around him, forcing Nick to stop and wait for the pillars to recede before going back in to attack.

Maylin raised her blasters and fired two charge shots at once, the blasts combining into a large, sparkling ball of magic that sailed through the air and exploded right in front of Phobos, the blast knocking him back so that Nick could move in and start attacking.

"Chew on _this_, you bastard! _Ancient Light!_" Nick shouted, thrusting Starlight above him and summoning five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged Phobos, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging Phobos' body and sending him skidding backwards.

"Not bad, boy," Phobos cackled, looking like he wasn't even hurt despite the obvious damage he'd taken. "But if you can't produce more adequate results _quickly_, you won't get anywhere. Maybe you can try summoning some backup or something to that effect?"

Nick took a step back towards the Pretty Cures, running his options through his head...

...until something clicked.

Phobos had mentioned "summoning backup".

Nick reached into his pocket and produced his new Heartbinder, causing Phobos to gasp in slight surprise.

"You know, Phobos, I gotta hand it to you for reminding me of my greatest power," Nick quipped, clutching the Heartbinder to his chest. "My connections. _Give me strength!"_

The Dragon Heartbinder began to glow a bright orange-red, and small flames began to spin around it as Nick channeled its power.

**("Aozora no Rhapsody" by fhana plays)**

Nick held the Dragon Heartbinder to the sky, and raging flames burst from it and swirled around in the air, before flying back to the ground and exploding outwards, quickly dissipating to reveal Nick's newest ally.

The young woman had long blonde hair decorated with flaming orange tips and a mixture of pink and purple added to her front bangs, red-orange eyes with dilated pupils, a rather buxom figure accentuated by her maid outfit, and a large green tail that resembled that of a dragon. A pair of mid-sized wings were sprouting from her back, and two pairs of curved horns protruded from her head. Her entire body radiated fiery energy.

Tohru looked around for a couple seconds before glancing back at Nick, a wide and cheery smile suddenly highlighting her face. Doing a little twirl to accentuate how ready she was, Tohru glided over to Nick's side and they both took a fighting stance.

"Last chance to back off, Phobos," Nick proclaimed, doing a short hop so Tohru could carry him on her back. Despite them looking about the same size and build, Tohru had no problem carrying him, most likely due to her sheer strength.

Despite this, Phobos remained as ready for a fight as ever, raising his katana in a challenge.

"All right, then, you're gonna be sorry!" Tohru shouted, flying forward to attack Phobos with her clawed fingernails, her wings keeping her aloft. Nick extended Kingdom Key during each swipe to add to the damage.

Phobos tried to slip an attack in during the barrage, only for Tohru to rear back and spew a stream of fire from her mouth that pushed Phobos back, burning several small holes in his robe.

"Ugh, curse you, dragon wretch!" Phobos shouted. "Go back to the mountains where you _belong_!"

"Okay, that's just rude," Tohru quipped, taking flight to avoid a horizontal slash from Phobos, coming back down with a spinning drill attack, aided by Nick's keyblade.

"Let's see you dodge _this_!" Phobos laughed, snapping his fingers and summoning twelve orbs of pale black light around Nick and Tohru.

The dragon maid wasn't impressed, though, once again breathing a powerful stream of fire, then spinning around so the fire spun with her and evaporated the orbs before they could touch them.

"I think it's time we put this joker in his place," Tohru quipped.

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Nick exclaimed, hopping off of Tohru's back.

Tohru's face suddenly took on a more demonic angle, her grin turning sharp and vicious as magical energy surrounded her body. She threw her arms out and flames burst from her, transforming her into a gigantic green European dragon with black wings and a light green underbelly.

Nick landed on the large dragon's back as Tohru craned her head back to nod to Nick before roaring loudly, Nick holding Kingdom Key forward in challenge.

Phobos leaped towards the giant dragon, intending to easily cleave it in half, only for Tohru to surprise him by whipping around so that her tail struck Phobos and slammed him back to the ground.

Tohru immediately galloped forward, pouncing on Phobos with her dragon claws and teeth, spinning and slashing, clawing and biting, intent on doing as much damage as possible.

Eventually, Phobos broke out of the assault and flew high into the sky before storming back down, trying to run Tohru though.

The dragon simply opened her mouth, charging energy into her mouth before firing it as a massive beam of fire and light that screamed into the air and blasted at Phobos. The prince tried to repel the beam, but was eventually overpowered and sent flying into the distance.

When the beam finally dissipated, Nick noticed a small speck in the clouds that looked like the opening of a corridor of darkness, indicating that Phobos had wisely chosen to retreat, realizing he had been outmatched.

"And don't come back, you wannabe prince, lun!" Lala shouted.

Tohru relaxed her stance as Nick leaped back to the ground so she could resume her human form.

"Well, that was fun!" Tohru giggled. "Let's do it again sometime!"

"Let's," Nick quipped as Tohru hugged him before her body dissolved into little flames that returned to the Dragon Heartbinder.

"Talk about a thrashing," Maylin giggled. "Haruka and I were just watching from across the street while you and little miss dragon sent Phobos running for the hills!"

"That was one heck of a way to show him up," Haruka laughed. "Phobos never seems to learn that he's not invincible. That hubris has _always_ beaten him before."

"And we'll keep stomping him as many times as we've gotta," Nick stated. "Oh, crap, we've got a doll to find! Let's keep moving, everybody!"

The seven warriors continued to search the city for the missing doll in question, occasionally stopping to mow down some Heartless on the way through (Maylin was kicking herself for jinxing it).

"Any sign of it?" Nick asked.

"How the heck hard is it to find a _doll_ in this city, lun?" Lala wondered.

"Remember, though, that girl said that _aliens_ apparently took her doll," Maylin quipped. "That must mean the Notraiders are behind this."

"Not... raiders?"

Nick turned around and saw that said girl had apparently followed them.

"Hey, why were you following us, lun?" Lala asked. "The Notraiders are bad news, lun!"

"They're the alien meanies who took your doll," Haruka answered. "We're trying to find them so we can... shall we say, _coerce_ them into giving your doll back."

The girl looked thoughtful for a second before glancing up at the group.

"Did those meanie aliens... look something like _this?!_"

The girl suddenly started cackling before floating into the air and being surrounded by swarms of shadows until she came out of the cocoon as... something else.

She was now a short alien humanoid girl with purple skin, pointed ears, a single blue eye decorated with pink eye shadow, bright yellow hair worn as two gigantic pigtails, two antennas (one green and one orange) attached to a pink headband, and a black choker around her neck with a pink circle. She was wearing a black top with yellow zig-zag stripes, small pink sleeves, black gloves with yellow lining and purple stripes, a round yellow-and-pink skirt, black leggings with purple stripes, and pink shoes.

"Aiwarn!" Elena shouted.

"I'm assuming she's another Notraider general?" Nick asked, summoning Starlight to his hands.

"Yup," Hikaru answered. "And she's been a _real_ pain in the rump."

"I knew you'd fall for my 'scared little girl' act!" Aiwarn cackled. "Just goes to show how smart I am, eh?"

"Definitely got the arrogance down," Maylin quipped.

"And now, Pretty Cures, I've got a surprise for you, something to finally take you down once and for all!" Aiwarn exclaimed, throwing something to the ground.

Nick looked down to the ground and saw a doll resembling a human woman with slightly pale skin, a long and soft face with green eyes and red lipstick, long iron-blue hair, a headband sporting white rabbit ears, a black Victorian-style dress with white linings, grey sleeves, and a black bow around its waist.

"Wait, is that the Angelic Amber you tricked us into looking for, lun?!" Lala shouted.

"Now, come, Nottoriga!" Aiwarn exclaimed, bringing out her laser pistol and shooting a black-and-blue energy beam at the Angelic Amber, causing it to start floating upwards and growing in size until it was twice as tall as the Pretty Cures, now with glowing yellow eyes and the Heartless symbol imprinted on its left ear.

Now, the Angelic Amber was staring down the group, its body twitching spastically and uncontrollably.

"Oh, damn it all, now we've got a possessed doll," Maylin groaned, summoning Counterpoint to her hands as the Angelic Amber floated forward. "Have I mentioned that's a thing about horror movies that I ABSOLUTELY FRACKING CANNOT STAND?!"

The Angelic Amber swung its lower body extremely quickly, so much that Nick only had time to parry the attack before it struck again, this time catching Nick and knocking him back, only for him to retaliate by regaining his balance and striking back with a lunging trio of spinning slashes to the Angelic Amber's body.

"Nice try," Nick quipped before pushing the Angelic Amber back with a Magic Flash, allowing Maylin and Haruka to go on the offensive.

Maylin decided to hang back and cast spells from a distance, seeing as how the Angelic Amber didn't seem to have any long-range options. As the Angelic Amber floated closer to her, she cast Aero under it, the spell forming into a localized tornado that swung the Angelic Amber around, making it a prime target for a salvo of Fire spells.

When the Angelic Amber fell down once the Aero spell wore off, Haruka moved in to attack, landing three clean hits before finishing with a Geo Impact, in which she smashed Divine Rose into the ground, the impact creating an upheaval of rocky spikes underneath the Angelic Amber.

"Um, I think we've got a problem," Maylin quipped as she blasted the Angelic Amber back with a Thunder spell. "This thing isn't budging!"

"Maybe because it's a Nottoriga," Hikaru answered. "It's basically a regular object or person turned into a monster by the Notraiders."

"Which means we need to purify it, lun!" Lala continued. "You three keep it busy for a bit longer, okay, lun?"

"Roger that!" Nick exclaimed, leaping into the air to avoid the shockwave from the Angelic Amber's dive attack.

The for Cures opened their pendants, allowing them to summon their respective Star Color Pens and press them onto the pendants.

"_Star Color Pendant, Color Charge!"_ all four Cures shouted before beginning their transformations.

The Angelic Amber did a backflip before diving through the air like a missile straight for the Cures. Nick solved that problem by switching to Magic Grimoire and Formchanging into Spell Shield so he could hold the Angelic Amber back with a large barrier.

"_The twinkling star that shines throughout the universe, Cure Star!"_ Hikaru, now Cure Star, exclaimed.

"_The milky way stretching across the heavens, Cure Milky!"_ Lala, now Cure Milky, exclaimed.

"_Lighting up the sky with sparkling heat, Cure Soleil!"_ Elena, now Cure Soleil, exclaimed.

"_Lighting up the night sky with the secretive moonlight, Cure Selene!"_ Madoka, now Cure Selene, exclaimed.

The four Cures leaped backwards before landing together and performing their post-henshin poses together. _"Lights shining across our world, guide us to the edge of the known universe! Star Twinkle Pretty Cure!"_

"We've got a shot! Stand clear!" Cure Soleil shouted.

Maylin fired a Blizzaga spell at the Angelic Amber for good measure, freezing it in its spot so the Cures could unleash their finisher.

The Cures stood in a circle formation, their arms outstretched.

"_Power of imagination, light up the sky!"_ the Cures chanted as a large star in each of their respective colors shot out from their left hands, gathering together to form a bright star that exploded outwards into a multicolored wave which made four more stars (again in their respective colors) that fell into the Cures' hands.

The stars transformed into the Twinkle Stick, which fell into Cure Star's hands. The four Cures struck a pose together, which caused the star in the center of the Twinkle Stick to start spinning and glowing with a bright light. The Cures then stood in a diamond formation.

"_Join the four lights into one!"_ the Cures chanted, a four-pointed star blending each Cure's color forming in the middle of their formation. _"Pretty Cure Southern Cross Shot!"_

The large star thundered towards the Angelic Amber just as it broke out of its icy grip, encasing it within the star before it flew into the air and expanded quickly before exploding into rainbow-colored sparkles of light.

When it was all over, the Angelic Amber, now back to its normal doll size, fell from the sky and into Nick's hands.

"What was that about finally taking us down once and for all?" Cure Soleil teased.

"Ooh, don't think I'm done with you wretches yet!" Aiwarn shouted. "I thought about it, and I decided to take a page from Tenjo's book and fight you myself!"

Aiwarn aimed her laser pistol for the Cures, switching settings to fire a massive barrage of lightning at them, only for Maylin to jump over and raise a Reflect barrier to stop the attack cold.

**("Sparkle! Star ****Twinkle Pretty Cure" by Rie Kitagawa plays)**

"You're not touching them, bratling," Maylin taunted. "Your fight's with us."

"Oh, what, you wanna fight me? Even better!" Aiwarn laughed, floating downward before attacking with a lightsaber-like weapon in her free hand, forcing Nick to raise his own barrier to defend himself.

"Come on out of that thing and fight me!" Aiwarn cackled.

Nick suddenly noticed that his grimoire was glowing brightly, and he knew what that meant.

"Well, if you _want_," Nick teased before expanding his barrier to push Aiwarn backwards, then raising his grimoire above his head. _"Formchange: Elemental Force!"_

Nick's grimoire ripped itself apart, becoming countless pages that shined with a mystical light before swirling around his hands and forming into two elongated magic wands, much like the one Noelle used, topped off with a crown on one wand and a key on the other.

"You wanted a fight, then you're going to _get_ a fight!" Nick exclaimed, rushing in to strike while Aiwarn was confused, slashing at her with his magic wands in quick stabs and slashes before finishing with a magic pulse that pushed Aiwarn back.

Nick hopped back and aimed both wands for Aiwarn, channeling his magic to fire a bolt of lightning into the air. A second later, hundreds of crimson-red lightning bolts rained down on top of Aiwarn, actually paralyzing her in her spot.

"Holy sith lightning!" Maylin exclaimed. "It's times like this that I wish we could still use Drive Forms..."

While Aiwarn was stunned, Nick continued his berserker magical attack, casting a souped-up Fire spell (that he dubbed Firaza, to distinguish from Maylin's –ja spells) that created a circle of flaming meteors to converge on Aiwarn. After the explosion, Aiwarn began to fall, obviously having lost her balance.

Nick took this time to release his Formchange and lunge forward with what was clearly a Zantetsuken. Aiwarn fell to her knees from the damage, even if she was attempting to get back up.

"Ugh... why?" Aiwarn growled. "Why are you do-gooders so stubborn?! Why can't you just _die_?!"

"Because as long as there's evil, good will rise up to fight it," Haruka stated.

"When villains get too big for their britches, heroes will always come to put them in their place," Maylin proclaimed.

"When darkness falls, light will shine to drive it away," Nick stated. "Light and darkness are half of everything. It's the delicate balance that _every world_ follows. We're stubborn because creeps like you constantly upset that balance, and that's what causes so many problems."

Nick didn't waste any time as he saw Aiwarn lunging for him, switching to Starlight, Formchanging into Second Form S, and unleashing an Ancient Light that blasted Aiwarn away from them.

"Blast you confounded do-gooders! This won't be the last you see of me!" Aiwarn shrieked, picking herself and disappearing before Nick could attack her again.

"Well, that was... kinda anticlimactic," Maylin admitted. "I figured she'd stick around a little longer."

"Well, Nick was kinda wrecking her with his new Formchange," Haruka laughed.

"Many of the Notraider generals apparently aren't good fighters, lun," Lala answered. "They usually just hang back and let their foot soldiers do the fighting, lun."

"As do many of the villain groups the other Pretty Cures have faced," Haruka quipped. "It seems to be a common theme."

"I'm sure there's exceptions, too, like that Phantom guy the Happiness Charge team mentioned, who used to beat down Pretty Cures left and right," Maylin stated.

"Oh, let's not put _that_ image in my head, please," Elena shuddered. "That sounds _scary_!"

As the group began to walk back towards Lala's spaceship, they failed to notice Phobos watching them, standing on a high rooftop deeper in the city.

"Those poor, simple-minded fools," Phobos cackled. "They honestly think they've won just because they got the better of me. Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? Once the χ-blade is forged, you'll never be a problem again."

Phobos looked up at the sky as he opened a corridor of darkness in front of him. "Meter was right about that boy. He has absolutely _no idea_ that he's playing right into our hands. I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being his undoing when the time comes."

* * *

"Aw, do you really have to leave already, lun?" Lala wondered. "It feels like you just got here, lun!"

"We're keyblade wielders, Lala," Haruka answered. "Our work is never done."

"But it doesn't have to be goodbye forever," Maylin stated. "We'll _definitely_ be back to visit once our business with those hooded hoodlums is done."

"Um, if I remember correctly, Phobos mentioned something about a χ-blade," Madoka asked. "What, exactly, is that?"

"The whole reason we're on this new adventure," Nick answered. "Phobos, along with a bunch of other hooded maniacs, is working for a villain named Meter, who intends to gather seven hearts of pure light and thirteen hearts of pure darkness in order to forge the χ-blade, which is basically the ultimate keyblade. If she gets it, she's going to submerge _every single world_ in eternal darkness."

"And, as keyblade wielders, we obviously can't let that happen," Haruka proclaimed.

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you," Hikaru quipped. "But I know you can stop her! Pretty Cures the world over have fought against unbelievable odds and emerged victorious before, so there's no reason you can't do the same!"

"Spoken like a true hero, Hikaru," Maylin giggled.

"So, if you're heading out, we want you to have this good luck charm, lun," Lala stated, handing a trinket to Nick. "Just our way of thanking you for being such help to us, lun. Other Cures told us how this works for you, so I think you'll know what to do, lun."

Nick glanced at the trinket, which resembled the very ship they were standing in, before attaching it to his keyblade and swinging it, the weapon transforming mid-swing. This keyblade had a hilt that resembled the Star Color Pendant, a long blade that resembled the Star Color Pen with teeth shaped like Tenjo's fan, a handle that looked almost exactly like Lala's antennae complete with the yellow orbs, and the rocket-shaped token connected to a keychain made of Star Donuts. The words _Twinkle Rocket_ came to Nick's mind as he studied the weapon.

"Promise not to be a stranger, okay?" Hikaru laughed.

"And if you see any of the other Pretty Cures, tell them that the Star Twinkle Pretty Cures send their regards!" Elena proclaimed.

"Please come back soon, lun," Lala asked, leaping over to hug Nick tightly.

"Awww, we will, Lala, don't worry about it," Nick stated, returning Lala's hug. "After all, we're friends now, right?"

"You know it, lun!" Lala laughed, causing everyone else to start laughing as well.

* * *

"Over here, you guys, I found it!" Mallory shouted, catching the attention of the others so they could all group up to take down the latest Heartless threat to Heatherfield.

They'd promised Nick, after all.

"Wow, this one looks... extraterrestrial," Justin quipped as he watched the large UFO-shaped Heartless advance on them.

"Seriously, Justin, stop commenting on the enemy! Remember what happened _last_ time you did that?!" Katelyn exclaimed, already priming a spell to launch.

Justin shook his head to regain himself, not wanting to relive _that_ particular moment. He already knew that Nick and Mallory would never let him live _that_ down.

"Let's bring this sucker back to Earth!" Mallory shouted, casting Armor Break on the Astral Anchor to lower its defenses and let Justin do his thing.

As Katelyn cast Graviga to pull the Astral Anchor down to their level, Justin moved in and started bashing Starlight into the enemy's outer hull, only for it to seemingly do very little damage.

"Um, Mal, you _did_ use your spell correctly, right?" Justin asked. "Because I'm not even denting this thing!"

"Maybe there's a weak point somewhere," Mallory admitted.

"What about that head on the top of it?" Mira quipped, pointing towards the upper half of the Astral Anchor, where a bulbous blue alien head could be seen sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Bingo!" Justin shouted. "Katie, get me up there!"

"One wind elevator coming up!" Katelyn exclaimed, casting Aeroga under Justin to propel him up to the Astral Anchor's head. "And stop calling me Katie!"

Once the Aeroga spell had carried him high enough, Justin leaped out of it so he could land on the upper hull and go to town on the Astral Anchor's vulnerable head.

"Yeah, you're not welcome here, E.T.!" Justin taunted as he smashed the head with a vicious overhead chop from his Starlight, completely ignorant of the energy building up around him.

"Justin, you doofus, watch your six!" Katelyn shouted too late, as Justin made one more swing at the head only to be zapped from all sides by a ring of lightning, then struck with a final bolt to the chest that knocked him clean off of the hull.

"You reckless idiot..." Katelyn sighed, moving to catch the falling Justin. "Mira!"

"On it!" Mira responded, raising her Starlight to cast Curaga on Justin, fully healing the wounds he'd just taken.

"Ugh, not my finest moment," Justin groaned. "Thank god I have an amazing nurse on standby."

"Oh, stop, I'm just doing my part," Mira giggled.

The Astral Anchor dipped low before turning sideways and spinning around, firing salvos of missiles with each turn of its chassis.

Katelyn solved that by casting Reflect in front of her and moving towards the Astral Anchor so that each missile simply bounced off of the barrier. Mallory, Justin, and Mira followed Katelyn while she did so, waiting for a chance to strike back.

Once the Astral Anchor righted itself, Katelyn cast another Aeroga spell under Justin while Mallory cast Psyche Up, a spell meant to enhance physical attacks for a short time.

With this combination, it wasn't much longer before the Astral Anchor was finally defeated by way of a flying stab to its head. Justin wisely leaped back off to avoid the electric ring attack as the Astral Anchor crashed to the ground and evaporated, leaving a large heart to float into the sky and vanished.

"GAME OVER!" Justin exclaimed. "One more freak of nature served up with the number five combo! ...oof, that made me hungry."

"Well, why don't we stop at the Galaxy Burger on the way back?" Mallory quipped. "I think we've all earned a bit of a treat for that one."

The quartet dismissed their keyblades and began walking back towards town.

"Remember when we used to have all sorts of trouble with those super-giant Heartless, even as a big raid party?" Katelyn asked.

"Yeah, you were so reluctant to call on those girls from Unicornis for that one souped-up Darkside that ambushed Daybreak Town," Mira giggled. "But it was worth it when they helped us beat it."

"Honestly, I was debating over whether we should just stick to people in our own Union," Katelyn admitted. "But Master Invi taught us that it's okay to ask for help when you need it, even if it's from other Unions."

"Even if it was those doofuses from Ursus?" Mallory laughed. "I remember you were so salty to anyone from Ursus after Nick got his keester handed to him by Aced."

"Well, obviously!" Katelyn exclaimed. "You think I'm gonna trust a Union led by someone who'd stomp on our best buddy?!"

"I think even _Mira_ was angry then," Justin teased.

"I might have been... a _little_ irked," Mira sighed, not really fooling anybody. Everyone had seen her rather... _murderous_ expression when she'd learned what had happened to Nick. "Do you think Master Invi would be proud of us?"

"Oh, I'm damn sure she would," Katelyn replied. "She admitted that she saw something special in us for doing what we did."

The entire group reflected on the time they'd spent training under Master Invi, noting that she'd actually stopped wearing her scarf around them, and she used to only ever take her scarf down when around the Master of Masters.

That _had_ to have meant something, after all.

Until the threat of the Dark Mother had passed, they'd continue to fight the darkness, because they knew Master Invi and the other Foretellers (yes, even Aced) would do the very same.

* * *

"Hey, it doesn't look like there's any more worlds around here that we can visit," Nick stated as he glanced at the radar screen. It was showing no more question-marked anomalies or new, undiscovered worlds. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not necessarily," Haruka quipped, switching the screen to what appeared to be a wider view of the Ocean Between. Now it was showing a second large area that was almost completely blank.

"Wait, there's more?" Nick wondered.

"The Ocean Between is divided into several different... well, let's call them 'galaxies', just for the sake of convenience," Maylin explained, gesturing to the map on the radar screen. "The galaxy we're in now is Starlight Way. This one over here that we haven't explored in about a year is the Misty Stream."

"The Ocean Between tends to shuffle its routes and worlds around every now and then, about a year or so," Haruka continued. "Most likely as a sort of safety measure to protect the worlds."

"There should be another batch of worlds for us to explore in the Misty Stream," Maylin proclaimed. "So let's just activate our warp drive..."

Maylin reached for a button on the control panel.

"...set course for the Misty Stream..."

Maylin pressed said button, opening the space charts. Haruka traced a path from Starlight Way to Misty Stream, from one waypoint station to another.

"...and away we go!"

Haruka dramatically pushed the Big Red Button on her pilot's chair, and the Gummi Ship was surrounded by energy before flying off like lightning into the "sky" of the Ocean Between, eventually disappearing in a burst of light.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Twinkle Rocket  
**_Base Strength: _**9  
**_Base Magic: _**9  
**_Ability: _**Combo Master **(Continues combos even if your swings miss the enemy.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Star Hammer** (Transform your keyblade into a rocket-shaped hammer for devastating ground-based attacks.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Galaxy Claws** (Transform your keyblade into claws to stick it to the enemy with ultra-fast attacks and range.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with a perfect balance of Strength and Magic, representing the newest Pretty Cures, warriors of light.

* * *

_Link get!_

**Tohru, the Feisty Maid Dragon  
**_MP Required: _**100  
**_Description:_ A link focusing on crowd control, Tohru allows you to fly around and use dragon power to attack from many ranges and take flight to avoid attacks.  
_Anime of Origin: _**Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (2017)  
****Commands:  
**_Claw Combo:_ Press X to attack with fast and fierce claw strikes and slashes.  
_Flapping Flight:_ Press O up to five times to gain more altitude.  
_Fire Breath: _Press and hold R2 to breath a stream of fire for long-range bombardment. Your Magic stat determines damage.  
_Flame Barrier:_ Press [] to defend against attacks from all angles.  
_Fire Blast: _Press X after a successful counter to retaliate with a shockwave of fire.  
_Dragon Transform:_ [FINISHER] Press /\ to transform into Tohru's true form, and press X to attack. Press /\ again before the gauge runs out to unleash a powerful blast.  
**Abilities:  
**_Leaf Bracer:_ Always finish casting recovery magic, even if you are hit by attacks in the process.  
_Burn Protection: _Prevent the burning status.  
_Lucky Strike:_ Increase how often enemies drop items. Stack the ability to increase the effect.

* * *

On the next episode...

Haruka: Okay, now we're in a school. Um...

Maylin: Apparently, it's a school where these two girls are beating everybody and their mamas up to find their boyfriends.

Nick: Why does that sound so familiar to me?

Maylin: Whoa, WHOA! Hey, ladies, I'm not trying to hurt you!

Kyoko: You're not?

Misako: I thought everyone in this school was out to get us.

Nick: We'd be the last to do that.

Maylin: Hood incoming!

Haruka: Of _course_ you'd be here!

Kyoko: You know mister hood?

Nick: Oh, _do _we. Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "Time to Wreck Some Face"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	5. Time to Wreck Some Face

The Gummi Ship, after opening a portal to its destination, emerged from hyperspace in the depths of the Misty Stream, a section of the Ocean Between that actually seemed to resemble an ocean, with multiple cliff formations resembling the cliff at the beach, and a collection of mist at the very bottom of it all mimicking the ocean itself.

"Wow, it's like the beach, in a cosmic ocean sort of way," Nick quipped.

"Basically our thoughts," Maylin giggled.

"But it's changed since the last time we were here," Haruka noted, glancing at the radar and the map screen. "Guess we'll have to keep looking for a new world to visit."

And so they did just that, piloting the Gummi Ship through the Misty Stream, occasionally stopping to shoot down a platoon of Heartless ships, and even looking for hidden constellations.

"They're pretty tricky to find," Maylin stated as Haruka aimed the cockpit camera to take a picture of the nearby constellation that resembled, of all things, Yomiko Readman, a Paper Master that Maylin and Haruka had helped on one of their previous journeys. "They like to hide in the most inconspicuous of places."

After crossing through a waypoint station to activate it, the Gummi Ship coasted through a warp-speed tunnel and came out the other side near a large structure resembling a world.

This particular structure resembled what appeared to be a large city, complete with a school, a downtown area, and many other buildings surrounding the school.

"Wow, a world that actually looks normal for once," Maylin quipped. "That's a change of pace."

"Yeah, but we usually know better," Haruka answered. "Trouble could be just around the corner."

"Ain't _that_ the truth," Nick responded. "So, if you don't mind, let's get down there and do what we do best."

"Roger that," Haruka proclaimed. "Prepare for landing, everybody!"

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The trinity has arrived in school, of all places, where two street-tough high school girls have embarked on a rampage across River City in order to find their kidnapped boyfriends and exact sweet, sweet vengeance on whoever took them. Nick and the girls decide to help Misako and Kyoko out, especially since they have to deal with not only a host of colorful characters, but also yet another member of the Seekers of Darkness. What exactly are they up to, and why do they keep insisting that everything is going as planned?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World:** BARF! Today, we're heading to a more recent endeavor, the WayForward-developed and Arc System Works published side-scrolling beat-em-up _River City Girls_. And despite me being ass at these kinds of games, I FREAKING LOVE RIVER CITY GIRLS. That seems to be the norm for WayForward stuff to me.

* * *

Episode 5: Time to Wreck Some Face

The teacher's voice continued to drone on and on and on, much to Misako's utter disbelief.

_Does it ever stop?_ Misako thought, hands reaching for the sides of her head.

"...now we look for the min _and_ the max on the specified interval, then cross over to the other blah blah blah"

Finally, Misako had suffered all that she could, clutching the sides of her head and throwing it back, letting out an angry growl of consternation.

"Ugh, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER!" Misako exclaimed. No one in the classroom except her BFF, Kyoko, even paid attention to her rambling, and even then, Kyoko was distracted by something on her phone. "Since when do people expect us to _learn_ things in FREAKING DETENTION?!"

"Totes," Kyoko agreed.

As the teacher continued to drone on, Misako finally deflated, her head falling onto her desk. "That does it," Misako groaned. "I'm officially dead. Death by math. Here lies Misako, killed by numbers. Hell of an epitaph..."

"Hey, I don't even go to this school," Kyoko giggled. Before Misako could even think of a clever comeback, Kyoko's phone suddenly vibrated, and she gasped in loud shock at the image on her screen.

"What's the matter, Kyoko?" Misako asked even as Kyoko practically shoved her phone into Misako's face.

Even Misako was shocked when she realized what she was seeing.

"Riki and Kunio! They... they've been..."

It was a picture of their boyfriends, Kunio and Riki, being coerced into a large van by a trio of rather shady-looking characters.

"...KIDNAPPED!" Misako and Kyoko shouted at the same time.

"Oh, Riki, I'll save you!" Kyoko giggled.

"Don't worry, I'm comin' for you, Kunio!" Misako growled, leaping to her feet.

"Um, please take your seats, girls..." the teacher stated, only for Misako and Kyoko to throw their chairs to either side of him, just barely missing him.

"No, YOU take 'em!" Misako shot back. "You can't silence true love, Mr. Rudis! We're gonna find whoever kidnapped our boyfriends and _beat their faces into the street!_"

"Yeah, what she said!" Kyoko affirmed. "Um... what's going on here?"

"Okay, of all the places I expected to disembark in, I was _not_, repeat, _I was not_ expecting to be sent back to _school_," Nick quipped as he and the girls walked through the halls of Nekketsu High (according to the large logo imprinted on the floor in the entrance lobby).

"It looks like one of those inner-city schools that got abandoned because some idiot city worker thought it'd be a good idea to build a school in the _bad_ part of the neighborhood," Haruka stated.

"Anyone wanna wonder what exactly we're doing in a _school_, of all places?" Maylin exclaimed.

The trinity's ramblings were interrupted when the intercom activated, allowing the school principal to speak.

"_Attention, everyone, this is your principal speaking,"_ the principal proclaimed. _"It appears that we have some troublemaking delinquents in the detention room. You know what to do."_

Naturally, that drew the trinity's attention, especially considering that sounds of violence and fighting were now coming from a nearby room.

"Sounds like trouble," Nick quipped, summoning Twinkle Rocket to his hands. "Let's go check it out."

"Right-o!" Maylin proclaimed as she and Haruka summoned their own keyblades.

And just in time, too, as the classroom doors exploded outwards to reveal two girls standing in front of a pile of collapsed student bodies, most of which they'd just fought through to escape.

"Okay, Misako, what's our plan?" Kyoko asked.

"Simple," Misako answered. "Break out of school, find whoever took our boyfriends, and beat the LIFE outta them!"

"Great plan," Kyoko giggled.

"Thanks. I just came up with it, actually," Misako admitted.

"Wow, you are, like, _crazy_ smart, Misako," Kyoko quipped.

"That's... effective," Maylin stated, moving to the side to let the two teenagers through...

...only for Misako to lunge straight for her with a double-fisted leaping punch, Maylin swinging Counterpoint upwards to parry the attack.

"Hey, what the hell was _that_ for?!" Maylin exclaimed. "We were just standing here!"

"In case you missed the pile of bodies in there, we're not letting _anyone _stop us!" Misako shouted.

"Um, Misako? I don't think they're trying to hit us," Kyoko quipped.

"Well, I'm not taking any chances!" Misako exclaimed, clutching her spiked knuckles and making a beeline towards the trinity.

"Okay, you wanna do that?" Nick challenged, raising Twinkle Rocket. "We'll _do _that! _Formchange: Star Hammer!_"

Nick spun Twinkle Rocket around, stopping Misako in her tracks, before tossing it into the air, where the keyblade transformed into a large hammer with a handle resembling an extremely elongated Twinkle Stick, and an anvil resembling Lala's spaceship. Nick smashed the hammer into the ground three times before hefting it on his shoulders.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Unless you _want_ me to turn you into swiss cheese, _move it_!" Misako growled.

"You _do_ see this gigantic hammer, right?" Nick shot back.

"INCOMING SPINNY THINGS!" Kyoko shouted, just in time for Misako to dive away from the slicing blades of another enemy.

"All right, who else wants some?!" Misako exclaimed.

The new culprit turned out to be a group of Nobodies with large, humanoid bodies and long yellow spikes for hands and feet. They were wearing dark gray body suits with white straps wrapping around their chests, their sleeves flaring out wide and ending in a pointed fringe reminiscent of Xemnas' crown, gray hoods with the Nobody emblem imprinted on the front, a white scarf around their throats, and a gray sash belt that draped down at the front nearly to the floor. Each one was carrying a pair of black-and-silver kunai.

"Oh, fantastic, now there's ninja Nobodies," Maylin groaned, twirling Counterpoint in her hands. "That's _all _we need!"

Despite the numbers, Kyoko jumped forward into a crowd of the Ninjas, flipping on to her hands and spinning around with her feet extended to knock a bunch of Ninjas away from her.

This gave Nick the time he needed to start attacking, swinging the Star Hammer in slow but powerful strikes that created a small shockwave whenever it struck the ground.

Despite this, the advantage belonged to the Ninjas, with their swift movement speeds allowing them to simply evade most of Nick's hammer swings and drop lightning bolts on his head.

"Okay, now you're making me _mad_," Nick growled, spinning the Star Hammer around him until he became a miniature tornado with hammer extended, preventing the Ninjas from getting close lest they be shredded.

While the Ninjas were on the defensive, this allowed Misako to uppercut one of them into the air, followed by leaping into the air after it and grabbing it by the waist, and finally powerslamming it into the ground head first.

Haruka wasted no time Formchanging into Rose Whip and lashing out to strike the Ninjas from long range, while Maylin Formchanged into Magic Blasters to snipe the Ninjas from afar.

One of the remaining Ninjas snaked around Misako and charged straight for Kyoko, only for her to spin around and perform what could only be described as a rainbow dab, the effect actually knocking the Ninja away so Nick could finish it off with an overhead swing from Star Hammer.

"Did she... just do a _weaponized DAB_?!" Maylin exclaimed.

"Now I've _definitely_ seen everything," Haruka giggled.

"Seriously, that stupid trend needs to _die and stay dead_," Nick groaned, reverting Star Hammer back into Twinkle Rocket. "Especially considering that Uriah and his goons keep trying to dab on me. I was seriously one dab away from keyblading him..."

After brushing herself off, Misako helped Kyoko stand up and turned back to the trinity. "So, I guess we've established that you don't _actually _want to stop us," Misako quipped.

"What exactly _are_ you tearing this school up for?" Haruka asked.

"Simple," Kyoko quipped. "Someone kidnapped our boyfriends, and we're gonna kick _so much butt_ to get them back! ...you know, I wonder who _took_ Kunio and Riki?"

"I'm wondering who sent us that text message," Misako wondered. "Kyoko, check your phone."

Kyoko brought out her smartphone, sifting through her messages until she reached the one that had set this adventure off. "Hmmm... it says 'Blocked Caller'. Who's that?"

"Damn it all, of _course_ it'd be blocked!" Misako groaned.

"That's usually how it works," Maylin quipped.

"How about we help you two?" Nick offered. "Honestly, we're here because of the Heartless and Nobodies, but long story short, they're _far_ more dangerous than simple students and street thugs."

"Sure! The more, the merrier!" Kyoko giggled.

"You _would_ say that..." Misako groaned, though it quickly faded. She simply couldn't stay mad when it came to Kyoko. "Let's beat it, then. We'll head out through the front door. I just hope Misuzu's not on duty today..."

"Oh, crap, what if she is?!" Kyoko gasped.

"You gonna let a three-hundred pound security guard stand between you and Riki?" Misako teased.

"No way in _heck_!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"All right, let's get downstairs real quick-like," Nick proclaimed, re-summoning Twinkle Rocket to his hands.

Misako and Kyoko quickly demonstrated their fighting skills when more Nobodies, thankfully just Dusks this time around, swarmed them, only for the two teens to quickly take them out with just their street brawling moves.

"Wow, they're really, _really_ good at this whole fighting thing," Maylin quipped as she watched Kyoko knock a Dusk into the air with a volleyball serve, then leap after it to do a volleyball spike that defeated said Dusk.

"No kidding," Haruka noted as she watched Misako send at least four Dusks flying in different directions by swinging her heart-shaped purse around her in a whirlwind attack.

With the five of them together, it wasn't long before they were able to make it to the exit/entrance of Nekketsu High.

"No sign of security..." Misako stated.

"You think she's on break?" Kyoko asked.

Before an answer could be given, a loud rumble suddenly resounded. Followed by another, and another.

"Do any of you hear that?" Maylin wondered.

"It sounds like we've got company approaching," Nick quipped.

"CRAP," Misako and Kyoko proclaimed at the same time, just in time for someone to burst through the opposite wall and glare at Misako and Kyoko, condescending flicking a piece of rubble off of her shoulder.

"Out of our way, Misuzu!" Misako growled.

"Yeah, we'd rather not hurt you," Kyoko replied.

"Hurt ME?!" Misuzu shot back, clearly not impressed. "You scrawny little runts couldn't hurt a fly."

"Hey, flies are easy to kill!" Misako retorted.

"Tell that to that one fly in biology class," Haruka giggled.

"I-It was that damn frog!" Nick sputtered.

"Anyways, as a member of the School Defense Force, it's my job to keep punks like you from sneaking out of class," Misuzu proclaimed.

"But... you don't even go to this school," Kyoko pointed out.

"SHUT UP! I'm trying to make some extra money!" Misuzu shouted. "Don't think you're smarter than me, girls. I've been in high school for _seven years_! Ain't nobody smarter at school stuff than me!"

"...I honestly have nothing to say to that," Maylin sighed.

"I honestly don't care how big or dumb you are," Misako growled. "We're getting through you and getting out of this school _right now_. So go punch your way through another wall until you figure out how doors are _supposed_ to work!"

"Yeah, we've gotta go save Kunio and Riki!" Kyoko proclaimed.

"Oh, that's _it_, you little turds! It's time for you to get FLUSHED!" Misuzu exclaimed, pounding her fists together.

"Sounds like she wants to throw down," Nick quipped. "How about it, Misako? You wanna teach her a lesson?"

"Oh, now you're _definitely_ speakin' my language!" Misako proclaimed as she and Nick shifted into a fighting stance.

_**Nick and Misako vs. Misuzu  
**__**Ready... FIGHT!**_

"...um, does that happen a lot?" Maylin asked.

"Only when we're about to fight really tough peeps," Kyoko admitted. "I'm used to it by now."

"GET OVER HERE!" Misuzu shouted, charging forward with a shoulder tackle, only for Nick to raise Twinkle Rocket to parry the attack, leaving Misuzu open so that Misako could rush in and start wailing on her with rapid-fire punch attacks.

After Misako stunned Misuzu with a gut punch, Nick shoved her back and struck with a Speed Slash, sending Misuzu tumbling into one of the nearby pillars.

Once she'd picked herself up, Misuzu pounded the ground so hard that it created a small shockwave around her. "Stop moving, you brats!" Misuzu growled as she began to shoulder charge around the room, seemingly surrounded by an aura of some sort.

"Okay, I'd say that touching her right now is _definitely_ not an option," Nick quipped as he dove away from Misuzu, only for her to inadvertently charge right into another pillar, leaving her stunned.

Nick made his move, Formchanging into Star Hammer and laying into Misuzu while she was down. After four swings, Misuzu pounded the ground to push Nick back before leaping into the air and coming back down with a ground stomp that created a much larger shockwave around her.

Misako did a leapfrog over Nick to attack while Misuzu was recovering from the flying stomp, landing three clean blows across her face before sending Misuzu flying with a leaping double strike.

However, Misuzu quickly recovered, her body glowing a dark red. "Stand still so I can smash you!" Misuzu roared, dark yellow electricity surrounding her body.

"I guess that means no touchie," Kyoko quipped.

Misuzu continued to shoulder charge around the area, forcing Nick and Misako to wait until the lightning surrounding her faded away to return to the offensive.

Fortunately, it wasn't too much longer before the tables turned, and Nick and Misako were able to finish the battle by way of Misako uppercutting Misuzu into the air with her purse and Nick finishing her with a Zantetsuken.

_**K.O.!**_

Misuzu tumbled to the ground, clutching her wounded face. "Ugh, you dweebs are tougher than you look," Misuzu admitted. "Gave me one hell of a workout, honestly..."

"FYI, I'd rather hug you right now," Kyoko admitted.

"Just stay down, got it?" Misako quipped. "Don't make us knock you around again."

"You've got one heck of a mouth, too," Misuzu stated. "Must be why Kunio likes you so much."

"Segueing into that, have you seen Kunio and/or Riki anywhere?" Maylin asked.

"Yeah, but not around here," Misuzu answered. "I saw them both hanging around Crosstown yesterday, talking to some creepy-looking dudes. Honestly, good luck finding your little boy-toys. I'm shocked they'd be fawning all over a pair of _twigs_ like you two."

"Hey, is that a compliment or what?" Kyoko wondered.

"Boys HATE scrawny little bugs, right?" Misuzu cackled. "They want a woman with _meat_ on her bones. And I've got _all the meat_. If you find Kunio and Riki, tell 'em Misuzu says hi. Hehehehehehe..."

"Okay, ewewewewewewewewewew," Maylin stuttered, trying her best to keep _that_ mental image out of her head.

"Ultimate ew," Misako concurred. "Let's beat it, Kyoko."

"Sorry for punching you so much," Kyoko apologized as the group made a swift exit from Nekketsu High.

"Freedom at last!" Maylin exclaimed once they'd cleared the front gates towards the bus stop. "Every high school graduate's dream."

"Ah, it's so nice to get out of that crappy school," Misako laughed.

"Fo' sho'," Kyoko giggled. "Wanna go see a movie?"

"Um, Kyoko, we're looking for our boyfriends, remember?" Misako reminded.

"Oh, yeah! We should see if they wanna come with us," Kyoko quipped.

"Maybe we should focus on finding that creepy guy that Misuzu mentioned," Haruka responded, swinging Divine Rose to cut down another Ninja that had jumped them. "Creepy guys and kidnapped boyfriends are usually the first pieces of the puzzle to be put together."

With that, the group set out into Crosstown, searching for any clues they could use to find the whereabouts of Kunio and Riki.

After getting some info on the creepy guy from Godai, a strange stalker-like high schooler, the group set out for the mall, only to run into a collective of small wizard Heartless.

"Hey, floating wizards!" Kyoko stated, immediately shifting into a fighting stance.

"Oh, wonderful, not _these_ wingnuts," Maylin groaned, summoning Counterpoint. "Why are these things _propagating?!_"

"Okay, here's the skinny," Haruka explained. "The grey one is a Grey Caprice, which isn't too tough, but fires balls of light that make it and its target switch places if it hits you. The pink one is a Striped Aria, which is very bulky and make you take more damage if it hits you. And the blue-ish one is a Sapphire Elegy, which can teleport all over the place, so pin it down and take it out."

"You got that right," Nick quipped, switching over to Team Formation and Formchanging into Sinister Scythe just as one of the Grey Caprices approached, firing off a blast of light. Nick began spinning Sinister Scythe around in his hands, easily deflecting the blast black to the Grey Caprice and warping it to him, after which Nick only needed one swift slash to finish off.

A Striped Aria wandered towards Misako, only for her to start pounding on it with her fists and finishing with a spiraling uppercut.

"Jeez, you weren't kidding about these ones being hardy," Misako quipped, preparing to block as the Striped Aria came flying towards her, only for it to be obliterated by a Thunder spell from Maylin.

"Yeah, but they _really_ don't like magic," Maylin proclaimed.

Haruka let a couple of Sapphire Elegys surround her, before doing a short thrust with her keyblade to goad them into teleporting to different places around her. This allowed her to smash Divine Rose into the ground and create an upheaval of rock and concrete debris around her that shredded the Heartless in seconds.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaang," Kyoko quipped even as she finished off a Grey Caprice with a double dropkick.

Once all the Heartless were vanquished, the group continued towards the mall, only to find that...

"Oh, crap, it's locked," Misako groaned.

"Kick the door in!" Kyoko offered.

"Actually, I've got a better idea," Nick replied, walking up to the mall's front door and raising the Kingdom Key, light shining around its teeth as it fired a beam into the door and its lock, undoing it and allowing access to the mall.

"Keyblades. Is there anything they _can't_ do?" Nick teased.

Once inside the mall, Misako quickly found out from a boy named Hiroshi (that she'd apparently taken lunch money from once), that no one had seen Yamada, the creepy guy, anywhere in the mall, but had also suggested they try the nearby construction site, as he liked to hang out there a lot.

"Is it me, or does this kinda feel like the beginning of a wild goose chase?" Maylin asked Nick as they crossed through the mall and back out again, knocking out more thugs and other students that were determined to stop their journey. The trinity had agreed that, since they were actual people and not Heartless, they'd only use physical keyblade attacks on the human enemies.

"I'm sure we'll get somewhere eventually," Nick responded as they entered the construction site. "_Someone's_ gotta know where those two are."

"Whoa, is this a construction site?" Kyoko asked. "It looks so icky..."

"Yo, magic boy, you up there?!" Misako exclaimed to nothing in particular.

Surprisingly, a voice responded. "MY NAME'S NOT MAGIC BOY!"

"I think he's up there," Haruka quipped. "Come on, let's go shake him down."

The group stepped into the nearby elevator that took them up to the roof of the building, which was, for some reason, not completely finished.

"Anyone else got a creepy feeling?" Maylin wondered.

"I sense _evil_," Kyoko shuddered. "Misako, hold me!"

Misako didn't get a chance to protest as Kyoko threw herself at Misako, holding her tightly.

Someone walked out from behind the nearby stairwell, his eyes radiating dark energy. He floated off the ground for a few seconds, his body generating purple lightning, before he landed and struck a pose.

"That darkness..." Haruka gasped. "You think the Heartless got to him?"

"Doesn't look like it," Maylin replied. "But if he's practicing the dark arts like Godai said, he could be easy prey for them..."

"Ladies," Yamada proclaimed. "...and gentleman... welcome... TO MY LAIR."

"Um, this is a rooftop," Kyoko answered.

"And not even a finished one," Misako continued.

"H-Hey, rooftops can be lairs!" Yamada shot back.

"We'll cut this story short since we're in a hurry," Nick stated. "We're looking for Kunio and Riki, and that big girl Misuzu said you hang out with them. Do you?"

"As if," Yamada cackled. "Those guys are _losers_."

That last line spurred Kyoko into action, and she would have lunged straight for Yamada if she hadn't been holding Misako by the waist. "WHAT DID HE SAY ABOUT MY RIKI-POO?!" Kyoko screamed.

"Kyoko, chill," Misako replied.

"I'LL CHILL THIS GUY'S _FACE_!" Kyoko growled.

"Relax, girlie, I haven't talked to them in years," Yamada admitted.

"Wait, I thought you were supposed to be friends," Nick questioned.

"We were... a long time ago," Yamada sighed.

"Wait, what's happening?" Kyoko gasped. "Why is everything turning white?!"

"Ugh, it's a flashback. NOBODY CARES, YAMADA!" Misako exclaimed.

_We were just kids then. I was ten years old when our family moved here to River City. I hated them for moving. I hated having to leave my friends behind. ...well, I hated a lot of things._

_**Is this gonna take long or what?**_

_I was sure I'd never make another friend in this new place, but... as we were unpacking, this boy across the street said hello. His name was Kunio and he... seemed nice._

_**He IS nice. Now WHERE IS HE?!**_

_**Ooh, is Riki in this story?**_

_Kunio and I quickly became the best of friends. We read comics together, watched TV together, played Intergalactic Space Rangers together... life was good._

_**Awww, see? That's sweet.**_

_**It's only sweet because Kunio's in it.**_

_Then, one day, a girl transferred to our school. Her name was Hasebe, and she was an ANGEL. It was the first... and last time I ever fell in love._

_**Hasebe? Ugh, I can't stand that weirdo.**_

_**Yeah, she's kinda sorta the worst.**_

_Wait, you mean those two that were hanging around the detention room when you busted out?_

_I think so. They looked... VERY condescending._

_I ran to the park after school that day, excited to tell my best friend Kunio about the girl I would marry soon._

_**Wait, weren't you only ten back then?**_

_**Yeah, that's kinda weird, buddy.**_

_Tell me about it._

_Does anyone else feel like we're intruding on this flashback sequence?_

_THAT'S your first question, Maylin?!_

_But when I got to the park, Kunio was already there... and so was Hasebe._

_**Oh, dang, that's hecka sad...**_

_**For Kunio, maybe! That trash girl never deserved him, if you want my lip.**_

_That night, I decided that I would ultimately have my revenge on Kunio, on Hasebe, on EVERYONE that had wronged me. I turned to the mystical dark arts to become stronger and stronger._

_**That's creepy! Scary things scare me!**_

_**Just wrap it up, Merlin.**_

_Then, later on in middle school..._

"All right, that's it, I'm cutting this flashback _right here_," Nick proclaimed, swinging Team Formation a few times.

"Why do I suddenly feel like Neptune?" Haruka sighed.

Yamada clenched his fists, purple mist forming around them. "I lost the love of my life _and_ my best friend in the same day!" Yamada shouted. "But thanks to the almighty power of darkness, I would never again be..."

"Stop right there," Misako groaned. "Did you seriously call Hasebe the 'love of your life'? You barely even met her!"

"Love needs no introduction, after all," Yamada laughed.

"Um, that ain't how love works, buddy," Maylin quipped, hugging Nick tightly.

"Listen up, freakball," Misako growled. "I don't give two craps about your childhood, your crush on lame-ass trash queens, or any fakey magic tricks you taught yourself. We're looking for Kunio and Riki, so either tell us who kidnapped 'em, or stop wasting our time."

"Hehehehehehe... you girls are all the same," Yamada proclaimed.

"Hey, we look nothing alike," Kyoko quipped.

"Not the time, Kyoko," Misako sighed.

"Always insulting me and treating me like dirt," Yamada continued as if Misako and Kyoko didn't even register to him.

"You _look_ like dirt," Maylin proclaimed. "Seriously, does the word 'shower' mean _nothing_ to you?!"

"You know, part of why I learned the dark arts was to meet girls," Yamada cackled. "And it looks like my time and effort's about to pay off big time."

Yamada suddenly started floating in the air, his body surrounded by darkness until it exploded outwards, forcing the group to take a few steps back.

"Okay, that's _all kinds_ of not good," Haruka quipped. "Does that darkness feel familiar, Nick?"

"How could it _not_?" Nick proclaimed. It was the same kind of darkness that came from Adam and Solid, marking them as holding pure hearts of darkness that the Dark Mother needed. "Let's finish this fight _quick_."

"I'll take this one," Maylin stated, summoning Counterpoint to her hands. "The best way to deal with a magic user is to stomp him with a _better_ magic user. Wanna back me up, Kyoko?"

"You bet!" Kyoko exclaimed, running up to Maylin.

_**Maylin and Kyoko vs. Yamada  
**__**Ready... FIGHT!**_

"Gird your loins, ladies," Yamada taunted. "It's about to get DARK."

"Yeah, screw _that_!" Maylin shouted, casting Thundaga and raining dozens of lightning bolts onto Yamada's head, only for him to eventually raise a dark barrier and absorb the rest of the bolts.

Yamada retaliated by vanishing in a dark mist and reappearing just behind Kyoko, using both of his hands to unleash a cone-shaped blast of dark rings that sent Kyoko flying forward...

...and off the edge of the rooftop.

"KYOKO!" Misako screamed.

"Oh, I don't think so, buddy," Maylin countered, spinning around and casting Aeroga to surround Kyoko with a spherical shield of wind that stopped her fall and carried her back up to the rooftop.

"Wow, I was almost a blueberry pancake," Kyoko quipped. "Thanks for the save, Maylin."

"Anytime, girl!" Maylin giggled.

Not wasting a second, Maylin glared daggers at Yamada. "You've got _some nerve_ trying to kill her. I thought you wanted to _date_ girls, not _murder_ them?!"

Even as Yamada moved to attack, Maylin raised Counterpoint and cast a powerful Thundaza spell, beams of light raining down around Yamada before unleashing a hellstorm of voltage in many directions to do serious damage.

"Whoa, Maylin, was that a super spell?" Nick asked. "And you didn't use a coin?"

"Don't need the coins anymore, remember? I gave all my old ones to you so you could get your own magic back!" Maylin giggled. "I got strong enough that I can cast super spells anytime I please, without a specific coin needed and without exhausting myself!"

Yamada quickly got to his feet, his dark aura growing in size. "Dark powers... _fuel me_!" Yamada shouted, calling three different structures into existence with his powers and orbiting them around himself.

Maylin simply smirked, casting Thundaga again to damage Yamada, since those satellites didn't protect him from above. Meanwhile, Nick assisted from the sidelines by casting Fire spells one after another to destroy Yamada's dark satellites and allow Kyoko to get in close and start kicking Yamada, ending with literally dabbing him off of the rooftop.

"Yeah, see how _you_ like it!" Maylin shouted, only to see Yamada floating back onto the battlefield. "Okay, probably should have seen _that_ coming."

"Don't think I'm intimidated!" Yamada exclaimed, teleporting behind Maylin to attack her, only for the young mage to counter with a Magic Hour that threw Yamada back into Kyoko's path. Kyoko attacked before Yamada could recover, unleashing a series of lightning-fast kicks that resembled Chun-Li's iconic move before lashing out with one final forward kick that sent Yamada stumbling.

After regaining his balance, Yamada laughed maniacally before planting his hands on the ground and causing a small spark of purple energy to start slowly dragging itself across the rooftop, leaving a trail of light along its path.

"Um, why the slowest-moving projectile ever?" Kyoko asked, running forward so she could jump over the trail and attack Yamada...

...only for Yamada to wrench his hands up and cause the trail to erupt in a geyser of darkness, catching Kyoko from below and sending her stumbling back to the floor.

"Okay, that's it, buddy," Maylin growled, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and firing shot after shot at Yamada, making sure to change her firing angle whenever he teleported.

When Yamada appeared again, Kyoko once again dabbed into Yamada, pushing him back and giving Maylin the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

"Get ready to meet your devil, dark boy! _Formchange: Spell Staff!_" Maylin shouted, her Magic Blasters fusing back into one object that transformed into an elongated staff decorated with magic runes, topped off by a large pink crystal ball.

Yamada ducked under another spinning kick from Kyoko to attack Maylin with a darkness-enhanced uppercut, only for Maylin to counter with a downward swing of Spell Staff, the staff charged with fire as she swung.

Upon contact, Yamada's arm was engulfed in flames, forcing him to back away so he could extinguish it, but Maylin never gave him the chance, swinging Spell Staff again and again, each swing imbued with a different elemental attribute.

When it came time for the finisher, Maylin uppercutted Yamada into the air with her staff, then began twirling it gracefully. With each twirl, a different orb of light began to circle around Yamada, each orb representing one of the elements that Maylin could command. Eventually, eight orbs had appeared (red for fire, blue for water, yellow for thunder, brown for earth, green for wind, light blue for ice, purple for gravity, silver for time) and compressed around Yamada, coalescing into one rainbow-shaded sphere of magic. Maylin dramatically slammed the pommel of her staff down, causing the sphere of magic to explode violently.

_**K.O.!**_

"Now _stay_ down, fool," Misako growled. "And don't try any more of that magical crap on us."

"Yeah, it's SPOOKY!" Kyoko stuttered. "Seriously, I can't even watch horror movies because of that..."

"You and me both, sister," Nick laughed.

"Why can't your magicky thing be more like Maylin's magic? Hers is cool and varied!" Kyoko stated.

"Ugh... never thought I'd get beaten on my a pair of girls," Yamada admitted.

"I could've guessed it," Misako quipped.

"All right, we won the fight, so tell us where our boyfriends are!" Kyoko growled.

"I have no idea," Yamada answered.

"Ugh, why does this keep _happening_?!" Misako exclaimed.

"Wild goose chase," Maylin sighed. "Freakin' called it."

"You seriously don't know?" Kyoko asked, her eyes wide. "We miss 'em really, really bad."

"Try Uptown," Yamada sighed. "They hang out there after school sometimes."

"Wait, and you know that _how_?" Haruka wondered.

"Hello? I hang out on top of a building all day. You see lots of things when you do that," Yamada answered.

"That's weird," Kyoko quipped.

"And sad," Misako stated. "Welp, see you later, Mr. Creepy."

As the group descended back to ground level, Yamada picked himself up, dusted himself off, and returned to his viewing spot...

...only to find someone in a black hood waiting for him.

"Um, didn't I already say no solicitors, hood boy?" Yamada growled. "I thought I made it clear the last time you showed up that..."

To Yamada's surprise, the hooded figure suddenly grew larger and unfurled what appeared to be a gigantic snake's tail from behind him, whipping it around so that it struck Yamada hard enough to send him flying off of the rooftop.

When Yamada's screams had ceased, a large black heart floated back up to the hooded figure, drifting into his hands.

"Right into our hands," the hooded figure hissed.

* * *

"So, this is Uptown, huh?" Kyoko asked once the group had reached their next destination, Uptown River City.

"Seems pretty fancy," Misako admitted.

"And expensive," Maylin quipped.

"And judgy," Haruka stated.

"I got this feeling that we really don't belong here, do we?" Nick asked.

"No, we do not," Misako and Kyoko stated together.

Once again, the journey continued through Uptown, taking the group to meet a bunch of different people on their way. One of Kyoko's friends, a tomboyish girl named Yoko, had instructed them to seek out Hibari, River City's top fashion designer (apparently, as Misako and Kyoko had never heard of them) as, according to Yoko, one of the thugs that had forced Kunio and Riki into the van in Kyoko's text was wearing a Hibari-made custom jacket.

"Is this the place?" Kyoko asked once they'd hit the east end of Uptown, per Yoko's instructions, and found a large, mansion-like building with a large golden sign reading "HIBARI" situated at the top.

"Pretty sure it is," Nick quipped. "Let's go find her and see if she knows this thug dude."

"Um... Misako?" Kyoko asked.

"What's up?" Misako replied.

"Are we... really... badly dressed?" Kyoko wondered.

"Heck no, we both look amazing!" Misako responded, as if it were the most natural reply in the world. That was enough for Kyoko, who leaned over to give Misako a big hug before turning her sights to another Ninja that was approaching them, waiting until it struck at her before raising her arms to block, then dabbing it off into the pit of spikes that lined the walkway around them. Maylin fired off a Thunder spell while it was recovering to put it out of its misery.

"Hey, any of you ladies know a Hibari?!" Misako exclaimed. No one answered her.

"Looks like there's nobody here," Nick stated, backhanding a Sapphire Elegy with a quick strike from Team Formation.

"Doesn't mean they have to be rude," Misako growled.

"Come on, let's check back later," Kyoko replied.

However, as soon as they left the Hibari building, two familiar girls were already outside waiting for them.

"Dork alert," Mami sighed.

"Oh, it's you guys again," Kyoko quipped.

"So, what are you two up to?" Misako wondered.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around," Hasebe answered.

"Looking stylish as hell," Mami continued.

"Okay, look, do you two know this fashion lady?" Misako asked, only to clench her fist when Hasebe and Mami started laughing.

"Oh, wait, you're serious?" Hasebe taunted.

"Usually," Misako answered.

"Hibari is, like THE fashion designer here in River City," Hasebe explained.

"And she's making _custom_ outfits for us," Mami quipped.

"Well, do you know where she is?" Haruka asked. "We've kinda got some questions to ask her."

"Oh, let me guess," Mami taunted. "Like, 'how do socks work?'"

"Or even, 'what's a bra?'" Hasebe laughed.

Maylin sighed dramatically. "Now I see why Misako and Kyoko can't stand these two," Maylin groaned.

"Ugh... you need an offering for Hibari to show up," Hasebe proclaimed. "Seriously, like, _everyone_ knows that."

"Not us," Nick replied. "Let's just say we're not from River City. How would we get her to appear? What exactly do we need to offer?"

"Something fancy," Mami stated. "And expensive. And GOLD."

"Can it be _colored _gold?" Maylin wondered. "Asking for a friend."

When Hasebe and Mami started laughing again, Maylin took that as a 'hell no'.

"Guess we'd better go find an offering," Misako groaned.

"But we're so poor," Kyoko sighed.

"Let's go try the pawn shop in the toy district," Misako offered. "Maybe we can trade something for it."

"Like a knuckle sandwich?" Kyoko cackled.

"Now you're talkin', Kyoko!" Misako laughed.

As the group left to continue their journey, Nick could hear Mami whispering "Hey, Hasebe? That outfit he's wearing is _so cool and stylish_! Why can't I have something like that?"

"Whoa, the trash queens actually like your outfit, Nick?" Misako wondered.

"Say, where _did_ you get those cool threads?" Kyoko asked.

"Long story, and you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," Nick laughed.

With their destination in mind, the group headed to the toy district of Uptown, eventually taking a secret staircase down to the pawn shop.

About six floors of stairs later...

"Hey, Misako?" Kyoko asked as she smashed a Nightwalker into the ground with an overhead crescent kick.

"What's up, Kyoko?" Misako replied as she knocked a Ninja to the ground with an overhead double fist slam so that Nick could finish it off with a low-hanging side slash.

"Did you ever wonder just why the heck everyone in River City is so violent?" Kyoko wondered, doing her Handstand Spin attack to clear a bunch of Striped Arias that were surrounding her. "I mean, everyone's always punching and kicking and bonking each other. Like, everywhere we go, all day long, every day."

"Guess it seems like it's just one of those kinds of places," Haruka quipped as she split another Ninja in half with an overhead slash.

"Yeah, where fighting skills become a necessity if you wanna keep your head attached," Maylin giggled, blasting another Striped Aria with a Blizzaga spell.

After reaching the pawn shop and dealing with a strange skeleton merchant calling himself "Skullmageddon" (he'd tried to charge Misako and Kyoko a million dollars for the gold cat statue they were looking for, but Maylin practically threatening him with electrocution had made him drop the price to a more reasonable amount), the group was on their way back, thankfully in the now-working elevator.

"All right, let's move it, Kyoko, no joke-o," Misako quipped, only to stop in her tracks when she noticed Kyoko's smile fade.

"Please... don't ever say that," Kyoko sighed.

"Bad memories?" Nick asked.

"Well..." Kyoko replied.

_Many years ago..._

"_Stupid Kyoko, you're just a joke-o!" Hasebe taunted._

"_Hey, that rhymes," Mami giggled._

"_I know, that's why I said it," Hasebe replied._

_Kyoko, who was on her knees, tried to think of a way out of this. "Please, just stop it..."_

"_Or what, you're gonna cry?" Hasebe laughed._

"_Of course she is, the dumb baby," Mami taunted._

_Before they could advance, however, another sound caught their attention. Hasebe and Mami looked up and saw a girl with black hair and a large bow tied in it clenching her fists and looking generally unhappy with how they were treating Kyoko._

"_Yo, what's the problem here?" Misako asked._

"_Why don't you mind your own business?" Mami bragged._

"_Yeah, beat it, newbie!" Hasebe quipped._

"_Sure thing," Misako replied. "But first..."_

_Misako dashed forward wickedly fast for her young age and lashed out with a flying kick that made Hasebe spin around like a small tornado before collapsing to the ground._

"_D-Did she just... kick me in the head?!" Hasebe gasped._

"_Oh, you're mean!" Mami yelled as she grabbed Hasebe by her shirt collar and retreated._

"_Yeah, you'd better run!" Misako growled before calming down and moving to help Kyoko to her feet. "Get up, new kid. What's your name?"_

_**So cool...**__ Kyoko thought. "I'm Kyoko."_

"_Weird name, but I like it," Misako answered. "I'm Misako."_

"Wow, no wonder you hate those trash queens," Maylin proclaimed. "And I thought bullies in _my _hometown were rough..."

"Honestly, you're super cool, Misako," Kyoko giggled, reaching out to hug Misako again.

"Tell me something I don't know," Misako proudly proclaimed, though inwardly, she was wondering why Kyoko was being so huggy today.

At long last, the elevator reached the ground floor and allowed the group back into Uptown. "All right, let's get this cat back to that fashion lady and see if we get somewhere," Nick proclaimed.

Thankfully, no more Heartless or Nobodies got in their way on the trip back, and the group was able to get deeper into the Hibari shop and place the offering statue near a formerly-locked door that immediately unlocked when the statue was placed.

"Be on your guard, everybody," Nick stated as the trinity summoned their keyblades for battle. "We remember how this worked the last couple times."

Sure enough, once they were in the fitting room, a young-looking girl in a very Japanese-style dress and a headpiece that resembled beetle horns floated down from the ceiling, tossing a few large needles like throwing knives.

"Nice entrance," Misako teased. "Enjoy your gold cat or whatever."

"Hmmm..." Hibari sighed, floating around as if looking for flaws or imperfections. "The offering is acceptable. What would you like me to design for you?"

"Oh, can you do mini-skirts?" Kyoko asked.

"Not now, Kyoko," Nick replied. "Actually, we're looking for information about..."

"I don't _do_ information, I do _fashion_," Hibari interrupted. "Which means you're just wasting my time."

"Our boyfriends have been kidnapped, and the guy in this photo who took them is wearing one of _your_ jackets," Misako explained.

"And I'm supposed to be impressed?" Hibari cackled. "Find me someone in River City that's _not_ wearing my designs."

"Um, us?" Maylin answered. "We're from out of town."

"Enough of your stupid insults!" Misako shouted. "We got your dumb cat, so float down here and tell us where our boyfriends are! And I'm sick of this crappy spider cosplay shtick. You look _ridiculous_."

"Ooh, I have _never_ been spoken to the way you have in my _life_," Hibari growled. "You come into my den, looking like high school hobos, and have the _nerve_ to lecture _me _on fashion?!"

"Hey, I love fashion! It's really fun," Kyoko giggled.

"No. Fashion is life. Just _not for any of you_!" Hibari shouted, floating higher into the air.

"Should have figured _that_ was coming," Haruka sighed. "What do you say, Misako? Wanna take a ride on the flying wardrobe?"

"If it gets her back down to earth so we can throttle it out of here, then you're reading my mind," Misako proclaimed, shifting into a fighting stance.

_**Haruka and Misako vs. Hibari  
**__**Ready... FIGHT!**_

Hibari floated back and forth before lifting her kimono blanket slightly and firing off a round of pale purple energy spheres in a fan formation, forcing the group to keep moving. Every once in a while, Haruka would swing Divine Rose to bat one of the spheres back towards Hibari, even though she would seemingly deflect it by way of a purple energy barrier around her.

As Hibari floated around the room, Misako would occasionally jump off a nearby wall and land a punch or two on Hibari's small frame before landing.

"This isn't working!" Misako exclaimed.

"I think we need to bring down that barrier if we're gonna deal any real damage," Haruka stated, batting another energy sphere back and seeing Hibari's barrier fade slightly.

"How do you propose we do that when she's going all Touhou on us?" Misako asked after leaping over another spread of blasts.

"I say we attack from a distance," Haruka offered. _"Formchange: Rose Whip!"_

Hibari floated to the center of the area and raised her hands to summon zombie-like minions to fend off her attackers while she threw a large needle out, the needle bouncing off of the walls. While Misako and Haruka dealt with the zombies, Nick quickly moved to in front of Kyoko to slash at the flying needle...

...which forced it to fly back on its previous path and eventually collide with Hibari, breaking her barrier and causing her to fall down to the ground.

"That's our cue!" Misako exclaimed.

Haruka quickly dodged to the right to avoid another zombie punch and began lashing out with the Rose Whip, dealing as many hits on Hibari as she could before she eventually recovered herself by way of spinning around and creating a cutting circle of light around her.

"Such _hideous_ outfits," Hibari cackled.

"Hey, I make this look _good_, lady!" Maylin shouted, blasting at Hibari's barrier with a Thunder spell.

Hibari responded by throwing another large needle that bounced off the walls, but left a small line along its flight path.

Haruka decided to take advantage of Hibari's lull by swiping upwards with the Rose Whip, hoping to bring the barrier down quickly.

"HARUKA, LOOK OUT!" Misako shouted too late, as Hibari sent explosive charges along the needle's path, eventually catching up to Haruka and blasting her into the opposite wall.

"Oh, you're gonna regret that, sewing lady," Nick growled, switching over to Starlight and Formchanging into Second Form S.

Hibari simply laughed, raising her hands and firing off a long stream of energy spheres towards Nick that he simply raised a Reflect barrier to dissipate. Nick then dashed forwards, leaping off of Misako's shoulders to go on the offensive, striking at Hibari's barrier until it went down, then segueing into a Hurricane Period, then an Aerial Finish, and finally a Magnet Burst that sent Hibari crashing to the ground, prone to Misako wailing on her with a bunch of punches, followed by a lunging strike that did a lot of damage.

When Nick landed, Hibari performed her spinning counter move, only for Nick to block it and close in.

Hibari knew she had mucked up.

"Your clothes store has been _clotheslined_! _Ancient Light!"_ Nick shouted, thrusting Starlight upwards and summoning five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged Hibari, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging Hibari's body and sending her flying into the opposite wall.

_**K.O.!**_

When Hibari crashed into the wall, something fell out of her pocket and clattered to the ground in front of Misako. Nick moved to retrieve the item and found that it was another Heartbinder, colored silver and imprinted with the picture of a microphone.

"Huh, that's an interesting charm," Misako admitted.

"Definitely going to be useful down the line," Nick quipped.

"Ugh..." Hibari groaned as she picked herself up, her outfit damaged in many places and her hair all frazzled. "You're a lot tougher than you look."

"We've gotten _that_ a lot lately," Maylin laughed.

"And you can FLY!" Kyoko giggled. "Can you teach us how to fly?"

"No."

"Eh, worth a shot," Kyoko admitted.

"All right, we need information," Misako proclaimed.

"And a mini-skirt!" Kyoko replied. "But... I can come back for that later, if you want."

"I don't know who the man in your photo is, but if your boyfriends actually _were_ kidnapped, I would try looking downtown," Hibari answered.

"To the _slums_?" Kyoko gasped. "Mega-ew!"

"Are you saying we belong in a dump?" Misako shot back.

"Probably, but nine times out of ten, when people go missing in River City, they're taken downtown," Hibari explained. "There's a secret tunnel behind my factory that will lead you straight there."

"Why do you have one of those?" Kyoko asked.

"BEGONE, you walking fashion disasters!" Hibari exclaimed before slumping down in defeat.

With nowhere else to go, the group followed the indicated tunnel through the back alley and into the downtown area.

However, when they moved into the fountain plaza area, they were stopped by another figure in the black hood of the Organization.

"Ugh, don't tell me you're another creepy nutjob like Yamada was," Misako groaned.

"Funny you should mention him," the figure laughed, lifting his right hand and producing a floating heart, completely stained black.

"What the heck?!" Kyoko gasped. "Is that his heart?!"

"You _didn't_," Maylin growled, immediately summoning Counterpoint.

"You were the ones who wounded him so grievously," the figure replied. "I simply did you both a favor and finished him off."

"Wait, are _you_ freaks the reason these people are losing their hearts to darkness?!" Nick shouted, switching from Starlight to Twinkle Rocket. "You're tainting their hearts to make us do your own dirty work?!"

"Oh, as if, boy," the figure taunted. "Their hearts were already stained by darkness before we ever decided on going after them for our own plans. You were just the ones who gave them a little push."

"Is this guy making any sense?" Misako wondered.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Haruka shot back. "You only have two dark hearts right now, so we're going to stop you before you can get any others!"

To the group's surprise, the figure just laughed in a hissing, snake-like way. "You would most definitely like to believe that, wouldn't you?" the figure stated. "Contrary to what you believe, everything is going exactly as planned. Our plans are going smoothly, and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

"Oh, guess again!" Nick exclaimed, Formchanging into Star Hammer and smashing it into the ground in front of the hooded figure, forcing him back and dropping his hood to reveal a middle-aged man with long blonde hair and grey eyes.

"...and you're supposed to be?" Nick questioned.

However, Maylin and Haruka instantly recognized the figure now, realizing they were being accosted by Phobos' right-hand man and general schemer.

"_Cedric_!" Maylin and Haruka shouted, readying their keyblades.

"Correct," Cedric laughed. "It's actually quite an honor to meet the wielders of the keyblade who've been giving us so much trouble these past few years. How fortuitous for me that I finally get to meet you... and _rip you to pieces with my own hands!_"

Cedric strained his muscles as he began to transform into what could only be described as a gigantic snake-man hybrid with green skin and an extremely long tail.

"EEK! Giant snake dude!" Kyoko shrieked.

"It doesn't matter what you turn yourself into," Misako proclaimed. "You won't stop us from finding our boyfriends!"

"The Dark Mother won't be forging the χ-blade as long as _we_ have any say in the matter!" Nick shouted.

"Poor, simple-minded fools," Cedric cackled. "Very well, then. Come and die!"

Cedric slithered forward faster than anything his size had a right to, slashing outwards with his claws and forcing the group to scatter in different directions.

Kyoko immediately got into a fighting stance as Cedric slithered towards her.

"Kyoko, incoming!" Misako shouted.

"I've got this, Misako," Kyoko responded, lashing out with a flying kick to stumble Cedric, then flipping onto her hands and spinning around with her feet extended, dealing many hits. While Cedric was seemingly stunned, Kyoko finished off with a Rainbow Dab...

...only to discover it had no effect.

"Um, Misako? That usually..." Kyoko quipped, only to be interrupted when Cedric lashed out with his tail, scoring multiple hits on Kyoko's prone form before wrapping the tail around her neck and lifting her into the air.

"Against me, girl, there _is _no mercy," Cedric proclaimed, tightening his hold and attempting to choke Kyoko to death.

"HANDS OFF MY BFF, ASSHOLE!" Misako screamed, rushing in and rapidly punching Cedric in the back multiple times until the pain was enough to force him to release Kyoko. Misako responded in kind by continuing to punch Cedric's spine before finishing with a Spiral Uppercut that sent Cedric into a tumble.

While Misako moved to check on Kyoko, the trinity moved in to attack.

"You've got some nerve, Cedric," Nick quipped, laying into the giant snake man with five brutal swings from Star Hammer. "Haven't you learned from all the times the Guardians whipped your sorry keester?!"

Cedric quickly recovered and slithered around Nick, intending to trap him, only for Nick to smash Star Hammer into the ground, creating an upheaval around him that forced Cedric to retreat.

"You okay, Kyoko?" Misako asked.

"Besides a scar that some people will think is a hickey, I'm doing fine," Kyoko answered, leaning over to hug Misako. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"Oh, trust me, Kyoko, this snake dude is going to rue the day he _ever_ messed with us!" Misako proclaimed.

Maylin leaped off of Nick's shoulders to unleash a Blizzaga into Cedric's chest that exploded into a shower of ice crystals, sending him stumbling again.

"You're nothing more than wretches who have one foot in the grave!" Cedric bellowed. "You can't stop me, nor can you stop the Dark Mother!"

Nick stood his ground, the Star Hammer glowing brightly.

"Oh, just give it a freakin' rest already," Nick shot back. _"Formchange: Galaxy Claws!"_

Star Hammer shimmered before dissolving into particles of light, which eventually reformed around Nick's hands and materialized into wrist-mounted claws that resembled the claws from Lala's spaceship.

"I'm sick of your constant posturing!" Nick shouted as he moved in to attack. Contrary to Star Hammer's slow but powerful hammer swings, Galaxy Claws allowed Nick to attack extremely rapidly with spinning claw strikes and jabs that covered a wide range around him. Cedric couldn't do much but stand his ground as Nick continued to attack him, leaving him open for Kyoko to move behind him and strike his spine with a Rainbow Dab, this time actually doing noticeable damage, as Cedric grunted in pain and doubled over.

This gave Nick the leeway to perform his finisher, where small nebulas surrounded his claws and he thrust them forward, creating an explosion of energy that resembled a galaxy. This was enough to bring Cedric to his knees.

"So, do you _get it_ yet?" Nick proclaimed.

"Maybe you just don't see the bigger picture!" Cedric laughed, whipping his tail out so fast that Nick couldn't react in time and was sent flying headlong into a nearby tree, Galaxy Claws reverting into Twinkle Rocket as he fell to the ground.

"Oh, _now_ you're _asking for it_, snake boy!" Maylin growled. "_No one_ slams _my boyfriend _into a tree and lives to get away with it!"

"You wish to try me as well?" Cedric laughed.

Misako and Kyoko raced over to get Nick back on his feet.

"Oh, you dropped this," Kyoko quipped, handing Nick the silver Heartbinder he'd acquired from Hibari earlier.

Nick clutched the Heartbinder in his hands, knowing that Cedric was in so much trouble now.

"Oh, Cedric?" Nick taunted.

"So, you're back up and ready for another thrashing, I assume?" Cedric cackled.

Nick simply smiled, the Heartbinder beginning to shine with a bright silver light. "You know what happens to people who assume, right?" Nick proclaimed. "And I'm sure you heard what I did to Phobos with one of these?"

Cedric tried to get a good look at the Heartbinder, but the light coming from it was forcing him to stay back.

"Then that should tell you how absolutely _boned_ you're gonna be in... oh, give me about two minutes. Four, max," Nick laughed, raising the Idol Heartbinder to the sky. A white-framed, headset-like device appeared around his right ear, extending one of its arms to place a projection lens over his eyes, and the other extended to behind his head and placed a small panel on the back of his head.

Silver beams of light exploded out of the Idol Heartbinder and converged on the ground in front of him, forming into a young girl about his age with long silver hair tied in a few French braids by red hair ribbons, red eyes, and a long white cloak.

The young woman began to do some sort of vocal warmup for a couple seconds until she reached for her cloak.

**("Ubiquitous dB" by Sayaka Kanda plays)**

A song started playing from out of nowhere as the woman grasped her cloak and dramatically tossed it aside to reveal a flashy idol uniform colored red and black. The instant that Yuna started singing, the trinity found their bodies glowing brightly, surrounded by two glowing cubes.

"Whoa, I feel so much stronger now!" Maylin gasped.

"Yeah, I feel like I could attack a lot faster, too," Haruka admitted.

"Oh, you're _definitely_ boned now," Nick proclaimed. "Let's get him, girls!"

Nick was the first to attack Cedric, now surprised to see that frontal attacks were much more effective, most likely thanks to the power buff Yuna was granting him. Nick's attacks became super-fast, consisting of a triple spin attack (each spin causing a reverb effect), a quadruple forward stab (each hit causing a drum beat to play), and a spinning keyblade drill attack that played a record scratch with each successful hit.

"Whoa, it's like my Rhythm Mixer Command Style lives again!" Nick exclaimed. Sure enough, the combo finisher was a placement of four large cubes around him that exploded outwards with the sound of a trumpet blast.

Cedric quickly recovered and struck Nick directly with his tail, only to see that it didn't even slow Nick down in the slightest.

"Yeah, like I said, _boned_," Nick laughed even as Cedric raised his claws, then slammed them down in an attempt to crush Nick, only for Nick to raise a silver barrier around him in the shape of, of all things, Yuna's hair buns, to stop Cedric's attack cold.

While Cedric was distracted, Nick motioned for Yuna to join him, and she did so, both of them producing a microphone so they could sing the final verses of Yuna's song together. When the song hit its climax, a shockwave of silver energy exploded outwards from them, throwing Cedric back into the same tree he'd thrown Nick into, colliding hard with it and losing his snake man form, reverting to his human self.

"THAT... WAS... _**AWESOME!**_" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Talk about overwhelming them with song," Misako laughed.

Yuna did a flashy pose before walking over and kissing Nick on the cheek, winking to him before dissipating and returning to the Idol Heartbinder. Nick's Augma also disappeared once Yuna had vanished.

"How did you like _that_ performance, snake boy?" Nick proclaimed. "I don't care what you say about the Dark Mother. We'll scuttle her plans as many times as we have to!"

"So you go and tell your boss that we're coming for her _real_ soon!" Maylin shouted.

Despite his injuries, Cedric simply laughed again. "Oh, we will meet again very soon, you brats," Cedric proclaimed. "But next time, you will _not_ be so fortunate."

Cedric retrieved his black cloak and quickly retreated through a corridor of darkness.

"Okay, what the heck was _his_ deal?" Misako wondered.

"Long story short, he's part of the 'Seekers of Darkness' we've been tangling with for the past couple days," Nick answered.

"Seekers of Darkness?" Misako repeated. "That's one heck of a name for a gang."

"Yeah, what kind of darkness are they seeking?" Kyoko asked.

"That's... quite a long story," Haruka replied.

"Hey, we've got time," Misako answered. "After all, it still feels like we're being led on a wild goose chase here."

As the group turned to leave the plaza, a loud CLANK resounded, putting everyone on edge.

"Oh, great, don't tell me _another_ one of those Seeker flunkies wants to throw down?!" Misako growled.

Nick, however, was glancing straight ahead of them, as a keyblade had fallen onto the ground just ahead.

"Hey, it's another one of your key sword thingies," Kyoko quipped.

"Does it look familiar, Nick?" Haruka asked as Nick moved to retrieve the fallen keyblade.

This particular keyblade appeared to be modeled after his classic Kingdom Key, with a gold handguard, a blue blade patterned with stars, and the concave rainguard replaced by a diamond-patterned bell shape. The top two corners of the handguard were embroidered with five-pointed star designs, while the bottom two appeared to be massive golden screws. Between the handle and the rainguard was a glass-like dome, deep blue and speckled white like a starry sky, and on the guard below the handle was a gold crescent moon. The teeth of the blade were now silver, and the crown shape was lined, and the keychain consisted of simple golden links connected to a golden, seven-pointed star. As Nick studied the weapon, the words _Star Cluster_ resounded in his mind.

"Nope, nothing's coming to mind, other than a really, _really_ vague feeling that I'll need this sometime down the road," Nick admitted, switching over to Starlight and placing Star Cluster in his "storage" for the time being.

"Hey, Kyoko, be honest with me," Misako asked. "You've been extra huggy today ever since we started looking for Kunio and Riki. Any particular reason why?"

Kyoko nervously shuffled her feet as she tried to answer. "Um... well, I was worried you were still mad at me over yesterday," Kyoko stated.

"Oh, what, _that_?" Misako quipped. "That wasn't even your fault, Kyoko. It was those dumb trash queens insulting Kunio that got me all raged up. ...though I guess I didn't really mean to snap at you..."

"That's why I was worried you didn't wanna talk to me when we got stuck in detention," Kyoko answered. "I was hoping you could accept my apology..."

"There's nothing to apologize for, you know," Misako replied. "It wasn't even your fault in the first place. _I'm_ the one who should be sorry for snapping at you."

"So... still BFFs?" Kyoko asked.

"You know it," Misako proclaimed, grinning from ear-to-ear. "And... um, how should I... aw, heck it. Bring it here, Kyoko!"

The instant Misako opened her arms, Kyoko squealed and threw herself into Misako's arms, happy to still be Misako's BFF even after all of that.

"Now come on, let's go find Kunio and Riki and pummel whoever took them," Misako quipped.

"Dang right!" Kyoko laughed.

However, it was only a few minutes into downtown that the group encountered yet another roadblock.

A very familiar roadblock.

And they were doing lovey-dovey motions, even joining hands and spinning around before doing a dual pose reminiscent of the Pretty Cures.

"Um..." Nick quipped.

"Well, well, Mami, look who actually showed up," Hasebe taunted.

"I thought this place _emptied_ the trash on Mondays," Mami laughed. "I guess not, huh?"

"And just what are _you two_ doing here?" Maylin shot back.

"We were going to ask you the same question, honestly," Hasebe responded.

"Yeah, you're not allowed to tell us where we can and can't go," Mami proclaimed.

"Wait, aren't we supposed to be going somewhere else right now?" Misako gasped.

"Yeah, we're only halfway done with this, right?" Kyoko asked. "I'm very confused right now."

"What are they talking about?" Hasebe wondered.

"No clue," Mami answered. "I don't speak 'nerd'."

As Hasebe and Mami shifted into a fighting stance alongside each other, Nick finally picked up on their intentions, raising his right hand and summoning Star Cluster to his grip.

**("We're the River City Girls" by Megan McDuffee feat. Cristina Vee plays)**

"All right, trash queens, if you wanna throw down, then by all means, let's freakin' throw down," Nick challenged.

"Oh, this'll be fun," Hasebe cackled.

"_Seriously_, I want his outfit!" Mami giggled.

_**vs. Hasebe and Mami  
**__**Ready... FIGHT!**_

Misako and Kyoko were the first to charge in and attack, and it quickly became apparent that Hasebe and Mami's fighting styles heavily resembled Misako and Kyoko's fighting styles.

As Kyoko attempted to knock down Hasebe with a Rainbow Dab, Mami interrupted with her own Handstand Kick attack, pushing Kyoko backwards, but leaving herself wide open for Misako to send her flying with a trio of Stone Hands, the same dashing punch she'd used on Cedric earlier.

Hasebe quickly rushed to catch Mami before she fell, then jumped forward to attack with an overhead axe kick, but Misako backflipped to avoid it, then retaliated with a double fist to Hasebe's gut, stunning her long enough for Kyoko to strike her with a spiraling kick, then knock her into the air with a volleyball serve.

Nick took this as his cue to go on the offensive, jumping over a sidewinder from Mami and leaping off of her shoulders so he could reach the still-airborne Hasebe and spike her to the ground with an overhead smash from Star Cluster.

Mami attempted to reach Hasebe and defend her, but Maylin planted herself firmly in front of her and struck four times, sending Mami skyward with a Magic Hour and giving Haruka the chance to send Mami sprawling with an airborne Geo Impact.

Mami crashed hard to the ground right next to Hasebe as the two struggled to get to their feet.

"This isn't working, Hasebe!" Mami squeaked.

"Well, then I guess it's time to bust out the heavy artillery," Hasebe admitted.

After a quick brush-off, Hasebe and Mami twirled through the air, landing next to each other and linking arms, a sparkling heart shining around them. Before the trinity could guess what they were planning, Hasebe and Mami began jumping all over the place while spinning around each other.

"Whoa, they're being really twirly right now!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"We need to get them to stop spinning all over the damn place!" Misako shouted.

"Then let's try splitting them up," Haruka replied, readying her keyblade. _"Formchange: Rose Whip!"_

As Hasebe and Mami continued to spin around, Haruka began to lash out with the Rose Whip, hoping to break the two apart and give them a chance to attack, but nothing seemed to stop their tornado of doom.

Nick decided to give it a try, switching over to Twinkle Rocket and Formchanging it into Star Hammer. He stood his ground, waiting for Hasebe and Mami to leap towards him.

When they finally did, Nick raised Star Hammer and prepared himself. When Hasebe and Mami came close enough to him, Nick struck, swinging Star Hammer downwards and smashing the ground hard enough to create a shockwave that forced Hasebe and Mami out of their special attack and into a daze, giving Misako and Kyoko the time they needed to start wailing on them again.

Misako launched Hasebe with a Spiral Uppercut while Kyoko sent Mami into the air with a Volleyball Serve, and when the two of them fell back to the ground, Misako and Kyoko struck at the same time, causing the "trash queens" to crash into each other.

"Ugh, they're making fools out of us, Mami!" Hasebe growled.

"Well, this is a boss fight, what did you expect?" Kyoko laughed.

"Uh-oh, she's turning into Neptune again," Maylin sighed.

"Then let's out-fool 'em, Hasebe!" Mami proclaimed.

Nick leaped towards them with a diving drill attack, only for Hasebe and Mami to leap into the air, join hands and pose again, and then...

...Mami began to roll around in her spot until she resembled a large sphere, and Hasebe came down to ride her around the area.

"Okay, is this weird to anyone else?" Maylin asked.

"She's riding her like one of those dumb clown ball things at the circus!" Kyoko gasped.

"Then maybe we need to get them off of each other," Misako proclaimed before running towards the two and leaping into the air to attack Hasebe, only for her to throw two heart-shaped projectiles that knocked Misako back.

As Hasebe rolled Mami towards Nick, he simply waited for his chance, and when they were close enough, he swung Star Hammer with all the force of an all-star slugger after the game-winning hit, sending Mami flying into a nearby wall and causing her to lose consciousness.

Naturally, Hasebe immediately abandoned the fight to dash over and stomp on Mami's body repeatedly until she was awake and ready to fight some more.

"Definitely an interesting method of reviving your partner," Maylin quipped. "But that also means I don't think this fight's gonna end unless we knock 'em both out at the same time."

"That's gonna be hard if they keep moving around like they've been doing," Misako stated.

Even as Hasebe and Mami resumed their "Rolling Mami at the Speed of Sound" maneuver, Nick just smiled, reverting Star Hammer back into Twinkle Rocket and switching over to Star Cluster.

"I think I know just how to do that," Nick proclaimed. _"Formchange: Cosmic Cannonade!"_

Star Cluster immediately dissolved into light particles that quickly reformed into a gigantic cannon resembling a comet and its trail.

The moment Hasebe and Mami rolled close enough, Nick went to work, swinging the massive cannon like a bludgeon and striking the rolling Mami enough for Hasebe to fall off and disrupt the maneuver. Nick continued by raising the cannon to fire energy blasts from its tip to keep Hasebe and Mami from resuming their tag-team attacks.

"A-Are we in trouble, Hasebe?" Mami asked, trying to find an opening.

"I t-think so," Hasebe admitted.

"Game _over_, trash queens!" Nick shouted, cocking the cannon barrel before unleashing a large sphere of light from it that floated over to Hasebe and Mami and exploded into several concussive bursts of magic, flooring both of them instantly.

_**K.O.!**_

"Ugh, no fair!" Mami groaned. "You all cheated!"

"...HOW?!" Maylin shouted.

"By beating us up," Hasebe growled.

"Isn't that the _point_ of a _fight_?" Nick wondered, reverting back to Star Cluster.

"Face it, you rejects," Misako laughed. "_We're_ the ones that Kunio and Riki love, so stop acting like you know them better than us."

"Are you two crazy?!" Hasebe shouted. "They _barely_ remember you."

"Yeah, you only dated them for one, count 'em, _one_ 16-bit game," Mami quipped.

"Not to mention one that was never released outside of Japan!" Hasebe shrieked.

"Talk about obscure, huh?" Mami stated.

"Do you have _any idea_ what they're talking about?" Nick asked.

"You wanna go _another_ round, trash queens?!" Misako growled.

"Fine, fine, you're their girlfriends! What the heck ever," Hasebe sobbed.

"Can we go now?" Mami sighed.

"I kinda wish we had a window to kick them out of," Kyoko responded. "It kinda sounds like it'd feel more climactic that way..."

"I thought you said you were done with us!" Hasebe exclaimed.

Misako looked ready for another round regardless, only for Nick to raise his free arm in response.

"Let them be, Misako," Nick proclaimed. "I think they've had enough."

Misako thought for a moment, but soon relaxed her stance and allowed Hasebe and Mami to get to their feet and retreat, leaving behind a small trinket as they ran.

"Hey, they dropped something," Kyoko stated.

Nick made a move to retrieve the trinket and attach it to his keyblade, slashing it through the air and watching it transform mid-swing. This new keyblade had a blade resembling Kyoko's bat decorated with band-aids and ribbons, teeth resembling Misako's spiked brass knuckles, a handle guard made of two glowing tubes that pulsed purple like Yamada's dark magic that connected to a hilt resembling a combination of Misako and Kyoko's phones, and the purple-and-yellow heart token dropped by Hasebe and Mami connected by a keychain made of small balls of black yarn. As Nick studied this new keyblade, the words _Knockout Punch_ resounded in his head.

"Well, that was fun," Misako admitted. "Felt good to finally put the trash queens in their place. But I think we should get back to looking for Kunio and Riki."

"I hope my Riki-poo's doing okay..." Kyoko stated. "They'd better not be hurting him, or I'm gonna open a HUGE tomato can of pain on them!"

"Tomato can of pain," Maylin giggled. "There's one I _definitely_ haven't heard before."

"Well, good luck on finding them, okay, you two?" Nick quipped. "And make sure you kick _lots and lots _of ass on the way."

"Oh, you bet we will," Misako laughed.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Kyoko asked.

"We'd like to, but I think it's time we head out," Haruka answered, twirling Divine Rose in her hands. "After all, we still have to find the Seekers of Darkness before they cause any more trouble."

"Oh, yeah, the hooded weirdos," Kyoko replied.

"And besides, you girls are super tough," Maylin continued. "I know no one's gonna stop you from getting Kunio and Riki back."

"And that's the stone-cold truth," Misako proclaimed, fist-bumping Maylin as the trinity made their way out of the area.

As Misako and Kyoko entered the nearby trash yard (due to an earlier tip that someone had seen Kunio and Riki hanging around here), Kyoko instinctively reached out to hold Misako's hand, only to flinch back when she thought she'd overstepped her boundaries.

But her fears were quickly squashed when Misako squeezed back.

Kyoko couldn't help but smile as she and her BFF descended into the trash yard, hoping to find some information this time around.

* * *

_A long, loooooong time ago..._

Freya glanced around the corner when she heard a chorus of familiar grunts, only to see Meter standing there, swinging her new keyblade, Star Cluster, in various different directions.

_That's just like her,_ Freya admitted. _She just got that new keyblade, and she's right back to the grind. I guess she still feels guilty about letting her old one get destroyed, even if it only happened because she was protecting Rose._

Meter continued to slash Star Cluster through the air, making sure she nailed each swing down to the letter, before lunging forward with a piercing stab attack, then leaping backwards to do a somersaulting spin strike...

...only to finally notice Freya watching her.

Losing her balance from the surprise of it all, Meter stumbled forward a few steps before quickly righting herself.

"F-Freya?!" Meter gasped.

"Relax, Meter, I mean no harm," Freya chuckled as she stepped into the room. "I'm just here to see how your practice is going."

"W-Well, it's going pretty good, actually," Meter answered, trying to project an air of confidence, even if Freya could see right through her like she always did.

"Meter, I promise you, Rose is going to be just fine," Freya proclaimed, letting her hands rest on Meter's shoulders. "She's not even hurt that badly, and you know it."

"I just... I feel so awful for even letting her get hurt because of my cowardice," Meter sighed. "I had just assumed that a tower of lowly Shadows wouldn't be much trouble at all..."

Freya smiled, enough to hopefully put Meter's heart at ease. "That's why we're still learning," Freya explained. "We still don't know the full extent of what the Heartless are capable of, and we just need to stay on our toes. We make mistakes, you know. Not even us Elemental Queens are immune to errors. And Rose doesn't blame you in the slightest."

"That's why I need to get stronger, Freya," Meter answered. "I don't want history to repeat itself next time I encounter a foe like that."

Meter and Freya's conversation was interrupted when Amber burst into the room, almost completely out of breath like she'd ran a marathon to get here.

"A-Amber, what's wrong?" Meter asked.

"That tower of Shadows is back, and it's attacking the council in the Congregation Hall!" Amber exclaimed.

"Wait, _what_?!" Freya shouted, summoning her own keyblade, Crystal Snow. "How did the Heartless get into Candracar?!"

"I have no clue, but we need to hurry!" Amber responded.

Meter couldn't help but grin as she clutched Star Cluster tightly. Finally, it was time for some payback.

The three Queens raced to the Congregation Hall, where, sure enough, a large twister-like formation of demonic-looking red-eyed Shadows, all clumped together and spinning violently like a tornado, was swirling around the floor, swinging its mass to repel anyone who tried to attack it.

"Wretched beast!"

"How could the darkness have invaded Candracar?!"

"Is there something wrong with the Veil?!"

Meter took a few steps forward, raising Star Cluster to point it at the Demon Tower, which moved to face her.

"Yeah, I'm looking at you," Meter proclaimed.

"Are you sure you can handle yourself, Meter?" Freya asked. "I mean, after last time..."

Meter, in response, just smiled. "Don't worry, Freya."

Meter hardened her expression as she faced down the Demon Tower. "I've got this."

The Demon Tower began to move towards Meter, but she swung Star Cluster upwards and cast Flowera, causing a tangle of rose-covered vines to sprout from under the Demon Tower and ensnare it, holding it in place so Meter could attack.

Meter first struck with a horizontal left cut, then a backwards vertical slash, followed by a keyblade flourish into a forward thrust, and finishing with an overhead axe strike that trailed flower petals.

Before Meter could start another combo, though, the Demon Tower broke free of its prison and swung its mass out to strike Meter and push her back.

This didn't discourage the Spring Queen, as she simply leaped back into the fray to attack the Demon Tower while it recovered, until it sunk into the ground and spread its demonic Shadows out across the floor.

"Meter, watch out!" Amber shouted, summoning her own keyblade, Pixie Petal, and leaping in to cast her own spell around Meter, protecting Meter with a shield of tree leaves as the Shadows rapidly fired themselves towards her.

Once the Demon Tower reformed itself, Meter was once again on the offensive, rapidly striking the Demon Tower's mass and causing more and more demonic Shadows to fall off and dissipate into dark mist.

"You're _not_ touching Rose again as long as I breathe, you _got that_, you damned monster?!" Meter shouted, though the Demon Tower eventually moved away before diving into the ground and creating pools of darkness in random spots. Every couple seconds, great torrents of those demonic red-eyed Shadows would surge upwards from the pools, forcing the three Queens to stay on their toes.

"Why don't you _chill_?" Freya proclaimed, raising Crystal Snow and unleashing a powerful Blizzaga spell that froze the Demon Tower in its place. "Finish it now, Meter, while it's weakened!"

Meter didn't need to be told that twice, running forward and leaping into the air. Just as the Demon Tower was able to shatter its icy restraints, Meter came down with the finishing blow, a powerful downward slash that effectively split the Demon Tower in half before every single Shadow that comprised it exploded into dark mist.

Once the Demon Tower had been vanquished, Meter flourished Star Cluster proudly. "And that's how it's done," Meter proclaimed.

"Well done, Meter," Himerish proclaimed as he appeared in the Congregation Hall, everyone else bowing in response. "You have taken to your new keyblade quite well, it seems. But, I must admit, it is disturbing that Heartless have invaded our holy sanctuary..."

"Could that mean something's wrong with the Veil?" Amber asked.

"I will look into it," Himerish stated. "However, you must be on your toes, my Elemental Queens, now more than ever. If a Demon Tower has shown up here in the realm of light, when they are normally confined to the realm of darkness, it must surely be a harbinger of some coming evil."

Meter glanced down at her hands after dismissing Star Cluster. Her left hand was surrounded by darkness, while her right hand was surrounded by light.

_Strength, to protect what matters,_ Meter thought.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Knockout Punch  
**_Base Strength: _**10  
**_Base Magic: _**4  
**_Ability: _**Combo Plus **(Add one extra move to your ground combos. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Spike Trap** (Transform your keyblade into spiked knuckles for painful close-quarters combat and lay traps to ensnare enemies.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Full Swing** (Transform your keyblade into a large bat for long-range swings and big damage.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with an emphasis on strength, representing two girls who will fight through anything to protect their boyfriends.

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Star Cluster  
**_Base Strength: _**6  
**_Base Magic: _**8  
**_Ability: _**MP Hastega **(Recharge MP 30% faster when you run out. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange: _**Cosmic Cannonade** (Transform your keyblade into a large magical cannon to fire bursts of magic to hit enemies at practically any range.)  
_Description: _A mysterious keyblade that courses with wondrous mystic power.

* * *

_Link get!_

**Yuna, the Virtual Diva  
**_MP Required: _**100  
**_Description:_ A link focusing on buffs and debuffs. Yuna increases all stats for the duration of the link, and changes Nick's fighting style to be rhythm-based.  
_Anime of Origin: _**Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale (2017)  
****Commands:  
**_Command Note:_ Press X to attack with spinning record strikes, up to four in one press.  
_Rhythm Tempo: _Press X during a combo to stab forward up to four times, generating reverbs with each hit that damage nearby enemies.  
_Record Scratch:_ A combo finisher that uses musical cubes to attack all enemies around you. Enemies hit by the attack become confused.  
_Music Barrier:_ Press [] to defend against attacks from all angles.  
_Beat Blast: _Press X after a successful counter to retaliate with a musical shockwave.  
_Yuna On Stage!:_ [FINISHER] Press /\ to start singing alongside Yuna while trapping all nearby enemies in the middle of energy rings. Press the buttons shown to deal more damage, and press X once the song finishes to unleash a powerful light attack all around you.  
**Abilities:  
**_Leaf Bracer:_ Always finish casting recovery magic, even if you are hit by attacks in the process.  
_Master Treasure Magnet: _Automatically draw in and collect nearby prizes, no matter how far away they are.  
_Endless Magic: _Continue magic combos as long as you like.  
_Lucky Strike:_ Increase how often enemies drop items. Stack the ability to increase the effect.

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: Okay, it seems like this next world is just... Earth.

Maylin: Only, like, completely ruined, and robots patrol the surface wrecking everything. Not exactly sunshine and rainbows, right, partner?

Haruka: ...

Maylin: Um... partner? Earth to partner?

Nick: Seriously, Haruka, is everything okay?

Haruka: ...I can't quite place it, but _something_ about this world seems really familiar to me...

Maylin: Really? Have you been here before?

Haruka: I wish I knew why I'm feeling like this...

Nick: Well, I guess we'll figure out this mysterious feeling next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "After the End"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	6. After the End

"Incoming!" Maylin shouted as the Gummi Ship rocketed through a high-speed tunnel of light, only to be bombarded from behind by a trio of Heartless drone ships.

Haruka simply smirked as she activated the rear cannons. "Spoke too soon, drone boys," Haruka laughed as the rear cannons opened fire and destroyed the drones, sending them crashing into the void below.

"Take a right, Haruka! New world coming up!" Nick exclaimed.

"Roger that," Haruka responded, veering hard to the right and exiting the tunnel, passing through another large waypoint station and coming out through two large cliffs towards the new world that Nick had spotted.

This particular world appeared to resemble the planet Earth, only surrounded by vicious-looking robots from all sides, alongside a large apartment complex, and with the planets Mars orbiting it.

"Well, mostly normal-looking, except for all of the killer robots," Maylin quipped. "What do you say we go check it out?"

When Haruka didn't respond immediately, Maylin leaned in to see what had quieted her partner.

"Hey, Earth to Haruka?" Maylin asked. "You still in there, partner?"

"O-Oh, s-sorry," Haruka stuttered. "It's just... something about this seems really familiar."

"Have you been to this world before?" Nick wondered.

"I'm trying to remember," Haruka responded. "But maybe I'll get some more context once we touch down there. So, prepare for landing, everyone!"

As the Gummi Ship descended towards the new world, Nick and Maylin were curious to see what about this world rang familiar to Haruka.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** For their next stop, the trinity has arrived on a ruined planet Earth, where no humans seem to live anymore, merely robots of many different shapes and sizes... and attitudes. For some reason, Haruka feels nostalgic about this particular world, but the nostalgia will have to wait, as yet another member of the Seekers of Darkness has arrived to attack our heroes, and possibly even the _actual_ human colony on Mars. Can the trinity stop the mad airship before it's too late?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World:** Ohohohohoho, I've been wanting to do THIS for a long time. Today's world is based on an old anime called _Kurogane Communication_, in which Haruka, the last human being left on Earth (seemingly), is cared for and protected by a family of robots who can almost pass for human themselves. Deep down, though, Haruka wants to meet other surviving humans, if there are any, but untold dangers lurk just outside the safety and comfort of her home... Yeah, Kurogane Communication is #2 in my top five favorite anime, and if you couldn't already figure it out, this story's Haruka _was_ originally from this anime.

* * *

Episode 6: After the End

"Okay, I was expecting trouble, but I _definitely_ wasn't expecting this place to look like the apocalypse came early," Maylin quipped as the trinity explored the vast desert that lay before them, with only sporadic buildings in sight.

"Yeah, what happened here?" Nick asked. "Is everyone gone or something?"

"If there's nobody left, that _would_ explain why the Heartless haven't shown up right away," Maylin quipped, lazily swinging Counterpoint around.

Haruka was still silent, gazing around the desert and continuing to rack her brain for why this place seemed so familiar to her.

After a few more minutes of exploring, the trinity came across a large apartment complex exactly like the one they had seen from the Ocean Between, only much more dilapidated than that one.

"Decorators much?" Maylin giggled, turning towards Haruka to continue the joke...

...only to see that she was suddenly crying softly.

"Hey, what's wrong, Haruka?" Maylin gasped. "I didn't offend you, did I?"

Haruka took a few steps towards the apartment, reaching out to it as if trying to grasp something she knew was no longer there.

"This... this is my old home," Haruka whispered.

"Your home?" Maylin quipped, just as the realization set in. "Wait, wait, Haruka, is this _your world_?!"

"When I saw this building, it all came back to me," Haruka replied. "But... I thought it had been destroyed in the flood..."

"Maybe it got rebuilt since you've been gone," Nick responded.

"But by _who_?" Maylin wondered. "If there's no humans left... maybe robots?"

"Why would robots rebuild a human apartment complex?" Nick wondered. "Not that I'm saying they _can't_, but... was there any particular reason?"

Despite her wistful recollection, Haruka couldn't help but smile. "I think it's because they were waiting for me to come home."

Before Maylin could ask what Haruka meant by that, the ground began to rumble and quake violently, forcing the trinity to jam their keyblades into the ground to remain stable. The apartment shuddered slightly but stood strong despite the quakes.

"What the hell's going on?!" Maylin exclaimed.

The sand dune nearby exploded outwards and upwards as whatever was causing the shaking emerged from beneath the sands. It was a gigantic robot twice the height of the house, designed to look like a cross between Godzilla and a tyrannosaurus, and it began stomping towards the house.

Haruka immediately summoned Rumbling Rose back to her hands and prepared for a battle. "You're _kidding_ me, those damn factories are _still_ churning out these accursed war machines?!" Haruka shouted, running towards the large machine as it raised a foot to smash the house.

Haruka leaped upwards, onto one of the lower roofs, then lunged for the large machine and slashed at its leg, causing it to stumble backwards. As it did so, Haruka noticed the Heartless symbol on its chest.

"Oh, great, that's _all _we need," Haruka groaned before turning back to her partners. "Guys, the Mechagodzilla ripoff's been turned into a Heartless!"

"Oh, yeah, time to bust some heads!" Maylin proclaimed. "Let's get to work, Nick!"

"Thus is our duty," Nick quipped as he and Maylin raced over to join Haruka in attacking the giant Heartless machine.

The Steel Annihilator roared loudly before stomping its feet four times, each stomp projecting a shockwave upon impact. Nick solved this by wall-running up the side of the building and leaping off when he was near the face, Formchanging into Second Form and laying into the face with Ars Arcanum.

Meanwhile, Haruka slipped to behind the Steel Annihilator, making sure to avoid the shockwave stomps, and raised Divine Rose high into the air.

"See how _you_ like it, chump!" Haruka shouted, before slamming Divine Rose into the ground and unleashing her patented Tremor attack, shaking the ground under the Steel Annihilator so hard that it caused an upheaval under it, damaging it severely.

Haruka moved away to avoid any retaliation, Formchanging into Rose Whip and lashing out to attack the Steel Annihilator's back from afar.

Maylin had leaped to a lookout point on the second floor and started firing spell after spell into the Steel Annihilator's chest, even if it barely flinched from each blow. "Man, this thing's resilient!" Maylin exclaimed as she dove away to avoid a slash from the Steel Annihilator's claws.

An idea forming in his head, Nick leaped down to Maylin's level and switched his keyblade to Knockout Punch.

"Then let's see if _this_ can punch a hole in its metal shell," Nick taunted as Knockout Punch began to glow brightly. _"Formchange: Spike Trap!"_

Knockout Punch dissolved into light, quickly reforming around Nick's hands as a comically-oversized pair of spiked brass knuckles, much like Misako's weapon of choice. The knuckles were decorated with small black stars and cross-shaped Xs like Misako's hairpin.

The Steel Annihilator reared back and threw a punch for Nick, its razor-sharp steel claws glinting brightly.

"Comin' through!" Nick shouted as he bent back, winding up, before dashing forward with a swift lunging punch that countered the Steel Annihilator's own punch, actually completely crushing the hand in the process.

While the Steel Annihilator stumbled back to consider its options, Nick jumped back down to the ground and raced for the giant machine's legs, attacking them with slow but strong punches, giving Maylin the opportunity to Formchange into Magic Blasters and pelt the Steel Annihilator's face with round after round of magic bolts.

Despite all of this, the Steel Annihilator refused to stay down, slowly ambling forward despite all of the trinity bombarding it with attacks.

"We gotta do something here!" Haruka shouted.

The Steel Annihilator responded by whipping its long steel tail towards the house, seemingly faster than the trinity could react to it.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, someone armed with a katana leaped through the air and sliced through the tail, causing it to collapse just in front of the house without actually damaging the building itself.

Haruka took a chance while the Steel Annihilator was roaring in what seemed like pain to look up at their savior, seeing a fully-grown woman with short purple hair and a visor covering her face.

The woman landed on the ground, then came back for another strike, easily severing the Steel Annihilator's legs from its feet, causing the machine to collapse to the ground.

"A-Angela?" Haruka gasped.

"Nick, there's your chance! Finish this menace off!" Maylin shouted.

"That was always the plan, Maylin," Nick responded, getting in close to the Steel Annihilator just as it began to try and stand up, seemingly oblivious to Angela's warnings.

Nick clashed his knuckles together before jamming them both into the ground at the same time. Gigantic spires of rock and earth exploded upwards around him, eviscerating the Steel Annihilator's chest cavity and internal systems easily.

"And that's how it's done," Nick quipped, the spiked knuckles reforming into Knockout Punch as he made a beeline for safe ground while the Steel Annihilator collapsed into scrap metal and spare parts, a large heart flying away into the sky.

"Another annoying Heartless toasted!" Maylin proclaimed, leaping down from the roof to join her partners.

Nick glanced back when he noticed a sparkle falling from the Steel Annihilator's remains. Moving in to investigate, Nick retrieved the item, which turned out to be a golden Heartbinder emblazoned with a white crescent moon.

"Nice find, Nick," Haruka laughed.

"Always keep on the lookout," Nick quipped, pocketing the Heartbinder for the moment.

"Guess I didn't need to worry about all of you, huh?" Angela stated as she joined the trinity. "You look like you've really matured, huh, Haruka?"

"I... I never thought I'd see any of you again..." Haruka admitted.

"So, Haruka, are you gonna introduce us to your ass-kicking friend?" Maylin teased.

Before Haruka could do so, though, a quartet of wildly different-looking robots came rushing towards the building, no doubt drawn by the battle with the Steel Annihilator.

One closely resembled a teenage boy, one was a small UFO-looking drone holding tiny guns, one looked like the Terminator but wearing a pink apron, and one was a black, oval-shaped robot with tiny arms.

"Angela, why'd you go running off like that?!" Spike, the teenager-looking robot, exclaimed.

"I believe she was going after that giant war machine we detected earlier," Cleric, the oval-shaped robot, replied.

"Why did it wuss out?! I really wanted to shoot it!" Trigger, the small UFO robot, exclaimed, rapidly aiming his guns like an action movie star.

"Now, now, Trigger, I hardly think your guns would have affected a machine as large as that one was," Reeves, the Terminator-like robot, stated.

"Wait, what happened to that machine?" Spike wondered.

"Cut to pieces by your friendly neighborhood keyblade wielders!" Maylin proclaimed, hefting Counterpoint proudly.

"_Really_ necessary, Maylin?" Nick sighed.

Spike was about to ask who the newcomers were when he finally laid his eyes on Haruka. Despite being four years older than the last time he'd seen her, Spike knew this was unmistakably the girl they'd cared for.

"M-Miss Haruka?" Spike gasped. "Is... is that...?"

Haruka smiled to put Spike's mind at ease. "Yeah, Spike, it's me."

Reeves and Cleric wisely moved to the side as Spike ran forward to hug Haruka like she'd disappeared for good. Haruka probably wouldn't have been surprised if that's what Spike most likely thought, even if it had only been a few years.

"I can't believe you came back from Mars!" Spike exclaimed. "What happened up there?!"

"Yes, I would like to know that as well," Reeves stated. "As well as why you fought that war machine, according to Angela's report."

In response, Angela just smirked. "If you'd been paying attention, Reeves, you would have seen that Haruka has learned a lot since last we saw her."

"I guess I should probably explain some things, huh?" Haruka giggled.

"Yeah, you mentioned something about that earlier," Nick answered. "Something about robots rebuilding that apartment because they were 'waiting' for you?"

"Yeah," Haruka replied. "My family."

Taking note of Nick and Maylin's surprised faces, Haruka began explaining her past. "I'm... technically an orphan," Haruka explained. "My mom and dad put me in a cryo-sleep pod to protect me from the war that was happening."

"I'm assuming that war was what basically eradicated everyone on the planet?" Maylin wondered.

"Mostly," Haruka replied. "It wasn't until about a few months before the darkness came that we learned most of the surviving humans actually re-colonized on Mars. That thing we fought, before it got turned into a Heartless, was a war machine, one of many responsible for destroying all human life that remained. For a while, I was the only human being left on Earth, and I thought I was the last human, period. Thirty years after the war, these robots found me and woke me up, and decided to take care of me."

"Okay, I'm confused," Nick cut in. "If human life had been basically annihilated, why were those factories still building the killer robots?"

"I wondered that for a long time," Haruka admitted. "I still don't really have an answer for that. Anyways, after a while, a massive flood threatened our home, so we had to get away from it. We took an ancient airship named Flyer to search for any signs of human life. And, well, we found someone."

"I sense a 'but' coming," Maylin stated.

"Exactly," Haruka giggled. "Kanato's robot guardian, Honi, was trying to kill any surviving humans because he misinterpreted the dying wish of Kanato's mom. We had to stop him from using a bunch of Flyers to attack the human colony on Mars, and when it was all over, I decided to stay on Mars with Kanato."

"Ooh, was he your _boyfriend_?" Maylin teased, anticipating some glorious payback.

"W-wh-what the heck are you _talking_ about?!" Haruka sputtered.

"Come on, Haruka, you know I'm on the money," Maylin laughed.

"He wasn't my boyfriend, Maylin," Haruka groaned. "We weren't the Adam and Eve of this world, you know."

Haruka quickly composed herself to continue her tale. "Anyways, it was only about a few months after I started living on Mars that... the Heartless attacked," Haruka continued.

"Heartless?" Cleric asked. "I have never heard of something like that."

"Was that the black shadow we saw on Mars that day?" Spike asked.

"The Heartless are monsters created from the darkness of people's hearts," Haruka replied. "They must have found the heart of our world and taken it, which basically destroyed it."

"Which means this world must have been restored when we defeated Izanami-no-Mikoto," Nick stated.

"Okay, now that everyone's up to speed," Haruka proclaimed. "Nick, Maylin, I'd like to introduce you to my family."

Haruka gestured to each of the robots in turn. "The woman who helped us defeat that giant metal Heartless is Angela, a combat expert," Haruka explained. "She would always protect us from the war machines and anything else that threatened us."

"I made a promise, after all," Angela responded, trying to look and sound aloof, but Haruka knew that Angela had considerably warmed up to them.

"This is Spike, my best friend," Haruka continued, pointing to Spike. "He was sort of a big brother figure to me while I was still on Earth."

"It just makes me happy to know that Miss Haruka was in good hands while she was away," Spike laughed.

"The big, scary-looking robot is Reeves, our caretaker," Haruka stated. "He may look like the Terminator, but he's really as gentle as can be."

"I have been told that a lot," Reeves admitted.

"The little flying saucer with guns is Trigger," Haruka proclaimed. "He likes to shoot things, so he's basically our marksman and long range attacker."

"Just give me something to shoot, and I'll _destroyinate _it!" Trigger exclaimed, spinning around like a kid on a sugar rush.

"And this is Cleric, our encyclopedia," Haruka finished. "He gives us information on the world around us, and tells us what's different on Earth after the war."

"I am proud to be of service," Cleric proclaimed.

"So, one last question, Miss Haruka," Spike cut in. "How exactly did you hold your own against that massive machine?"

Haruka just smiled and summoned Divine Rose to her hands. "Well, it's part of the reason I've been gone from this world for the past four or so years," Haruka answered. "I'm a keyblade wielder who travels to different worlds to fight the Heartless and stop them from destroying worlds and taking peoples' hearts. My friends here are keyblade wielders, too."

"Actually, we're all Keyblade Masters!" Maylin proclaimed proudly.

"Say, I was actually wondering," Haruka asked. "Did the floodwaters here recede or something since I've been gone?"

"That's actually why we came here, to investigate that," Angela admitted. "We encountered a strange anomaly down on the surface and decided to see what happened."

"When we reached the old dwelling, we noticed that the floodwaters had receded, so we began to scout the area to find out what might have caused such an event," Cleric explained.

"It seems like the waters may have been drained into one of those large craters, no doubt caused by the machine you just destroyed," Reeves theorized.

"Okay, here's _my_ question, though," Maylin quipped. "If giant metal monster boy was turned into a Heartless, who do you think did it? After all, if only robots remain on the surface, then the Heartless can't technically steal their hearts if they're not there. Um, no offense, guys, I don't mean, like, a _literal_ heart..."

"None taken," Reeves replied. "We understand."

Haruka would have put in her two cents had she not sensed the opening of a corridor of darkness not too far away from them.

"I think we're about to meet our prime suspect," Nick proclaimed.

"Prime suspect?" the cloaked figure cackled. "Oh, _that's_ cold. Here I am, coming to say hi to you _personally_, and not so much as a 'good to see you'?"

"After all the bedlam you've caused, you've lost that privilege," Haruka challenged as the trinity summoned their keyblades for battle. "Now how about you yank that hood off so we can see who you are?"

The figure did just that, reaching up to pull down her hood and reveal a young woman about their age with long, flowing black hair (Maylin wondered how it all fit in that tiny hood) and dark blue eyes.

"Oh, _god_, I was hoping it _wouldn't_ be you," Maylin groaned.

"Nerissa," Nick growled.

"Wow, even _you've_ heard of me, boy?" Nerissa laughed, walking forward as she did so. "That means you must be friends with those abominable Guardians who destroyed me in this time. Pray tell, what _are_ they up to these days, huh?"

"Nothing that concerns you, you shriveled-up old hag," Maylin proclaimed.

"_Ouch_," Nerissa teased. "So cruel. Teenagers these days are so harsh. Well, it doesn't really matter anyways. I'm here to put the lot of you in your place."

Nerissa raised her right hand and, to the shock of the trinity, summoned a keyblade. It was a simple-looking keyblade with a blood-red guard and a wicked blade with teeth that formed the negative space of a heart.

"W-where did you get that keyblade?!" Nick exclaimed. "I thought it had been destroyed!"

Sure enough, Meter was wielding the Dark Keyblade that had once been wielded by Kusumi-no-Okami during the trinity's first visit to the Blue Sky Kingdom.

"A little gift from Meter," Nerissa answered, bringing the Dark Keyblade into a fighting stance. "To wipe you pesky keyblade wielders off the face of this universe!"

"Former bad guy or not, I wouldn't be getting too big for your britches if I were you," Maylin responded, raising Counterpoint. "After all, we've stomped every member of your Seekers of Darkness so far."

"So don't go thinking you're unstoppable," Haruka stated.

"Such arrogance, too," Nerissa laughed.

"Says the ex-Guardian who failed to see the irony in her stupid statement!" Nick shouted, lunging forward to attack Nerissa.

Nerissa simply cackled as she swung the Dark Keyblade in an upward arc, lightning trailing her swing and forcing Nick to juke to the side to avoid it.

This, however, gave Nerissa a chance to stab forward and impale Nick, only for him to cross Knockout Punch across his body to deflect the strike.

"Sorry, but I've already been impaled by that thing," Nick quipped, switching over to Starlight. "Death by evil keyblade is not fun, and once is enough for me, thank you very much! _Formchange: Second Form S!_"

Nerissa came back with a spinning sidewinder attack, but Nick blocked the strike and retaliated with a Zantetsuken, chopping through Nerissa and stunning her briefly.

This allowed Haruka to go on the offensive, Formchanging into Rose Whip and attacking from afar, even managing to corral the Dark Keyblade with the whip.

Nerissa just grinned viciously. "Bad idea, tramp!" Nerissa shouted, electrifying the Dark Keyblade, which caused the electricity to travel all the way along the Rose Whip and electrocute Haruka.

"You're gonna regret that!" Maylin growled, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and launching two large spheres of magic that exploded on contact with Nerissa, forcing her back and stopping the electricity.

"You okay, Haruka?" Nick asked as he cast Curaga on Haruka, who quickly got back to her feet and cracked the Rose Whip in readiness.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Haruka responded, the Rose Whip glowing brightly. _"Formchange: Petal Blades!"_

The Rose Whip dissolved into a cloud of sakura petals before reforming around Haruka's hands, extending into two long blades of pink light that protruded from her hands.

"Let's see you try me _now_!" Haruka exclaimed, rushing in to attack just as Nerissa was recovering from Maylin's attack. Nerissa raised her free hand to shoot a blast of lightning, but Haruka swung her blades to dispel the blast, creating a small field of petals around her.

Too soon to fire another bolt, Nerissa attempted to swing the Dark Keyblade, but Haruka swung her own weapon to knock it aside, then slammed her blades into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of flower petals that drove Nerissa back.

Not intending to waste an opportunity, Haruka began attacking wildly, each swing of her blades creating a small burst of razor-sharp flower petals that added to the damage Nerissa was taking.

Before she could finish the combo, though, Nerissa fired a lightning bolt into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand that distracted Haruka long enough for Nerissa to jump back.

"Do try and weather the storm, if you'd kindly!" Nerissa laughed, raising the Dark Keyblade as a pitch-black cloud began forming over the battlefield, raining down powerful lightning strikes at random intervals, forcing the trinity to stay on the move to avoid getting shocked.

"That was lamer than one of Yang's puns, lady!" Maylin shot back, raising a Reflect barrier around her to dispel the lightning coming for her.

Haruka stopped in her tracks when she noticed a cloud forming above the five robots.

"Already on it, partner!" Maylin exclaimed, spinning Counterpoint to cast a Reflect spell on the robots, shielding them from the lightning. "Now go and wreck some face!"

"As always," Haruka giggled before turning serious and raising her blades to the sky, where they detached from her hands and flew forward, warping around to strike Nerissa from multiple angles, depending on which way Haruka moved her hands.

For the finale, Haruka raised both of her hands, then snapped them down. This caused both blades to merge into one giant flower sword that smashed into the ground in front of Nerissa and exploded into a storm of flowers, damaging Nerissa heavily.

The blades returned to Haruka and reformed into Divine Rose so she could catch it.

"Now say goodnight, ex-con! _Ancient Light!_" Nick shouted, getting in close and thrusting Starlight above him to summon five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged Nerissa, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging Nerissa's body and sending her skidding backwards.

"You gonna give up now?" Haruka challenged.

"Don't think I'm going to yield that easily," Nerissa growled, clutching the Dark Keyblade and leveling it towards the robots. "Maybe I should turn your 'family' into Heartless as well?"

"If you even DARE..." Haruka snarled, clutching Divine Rose tightly.

"It's useless anyway," Nerissa proclaimed. "_Friendship _and _family_ are nothing but illusions anyway. I should know."

At that, Nick had an idea, reaching for the Heartbinder he'd acquired from the remains of the Steel Annihilator.

"Once again, I gotta thank you Seekers for reminding me of my greatest power," Nick laughed.

"Oh, and what is _that_, boy?" Nerissa taunted.

Nick just smiled, the Lunar Heartbinder glowing brightly.

"My connections. _Give me strength!_"

**("Moonlight Densetsu -25th Anniversary Memorial Tribute ver.-" by LiSA plays)**

Light began to emanate from the Lunar Heartbinder as Nick held it to the sky, a shower of golden crescent moons radiating out from the moon on the Heartbinder before swirling around him and flying into the sky, forming into Nick's newest ally who fell down and landed gracefully on the ground in front of him.

It was a teenage girl close to his age with bright blue eyes and long blonde hair tied into twin odangos (spherical hair buns) and very long ponytails. Her outfit consisted of a white leotard with a blue collar with three stripes on it, white gloves, light yellow shoulder pads, and a blue skirt, along with a red bow on the chest and at the back. She also wore a pair of red knee-high boots with a white border at the triangular top and crescent moons, gold earrings consisting of a stars with a crescent moon beneath, white-bordered red circular hairpieces (one on each odango), feather barrettes in her hair, and a choker with a golden crescent moon on it. She was also wearing a tiara with a crescent moon embedded with a gem in the middle.

The girl quickly struck a very familiar pose to Maylin and Haruka, with Maylin having stars in her eyes, and Haruka wondering if this was actually real.

"I am the pretty guardian in a sailor suit who fights for love and justice," the girl proclaimed. "I am Sailor Moon! And now, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

"Holy crap, did Nick just summon _frick-fracking Sailor Moon_?!" Maylin gasped.

"I guess I should have seen it coming," Haruka giggled.

"More teenagers in elaborate uniforms won't stop me!" Nerissa exclaimed, jumping through the air to attack Nick, only for Sailor Moon to take off her tiara and toss it forward like a boomerang, the tiara turning into a spiraling energy disc that slammed into Nerissa's chest mid-jump, forcing her back to the ground.

Sailor Moon reached out to catch and replace her tiara before summoning her Spiral Heart Moon Rod and dashing into the fray with Nick by her side.

Together, the two began to attack the dazed Nerissa with everything they had until Nerissa pushed them back with a short-range concussive burst of electricity.

"Try and get past me now!" Nerissa laughed.

Sailor Moon just smiled, reaching up to touch the jewel on her tiara and causing it to emit a bright flash of white light that dispelled Nerissa's shield.

Nerissa let out a battle cry and charged, lashing out with an overhead swing, but Sailor Moon simply kicked the Dark Keyblade away before nailing Nerissa in the gut with another kick.

"More thankful than ever for Rei-chan teaching me some martial arts," Sailor Moon giggled before raising her Spiral Heart Moon Rod and twirling it around her multiple times before holding it above her head.

"_Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"_ Sailor Moon exclaimed, spinning around wildly before thrusting the Spiral Heart Moon Rod towards Nerissa, unleashing a massive pink energy heart that crashed straight through Nerissa and drove her to her knees.

"I don't think she's done yet," Haruka quipped.

"Then let's step it up a bit," Sailor Moon replied, bringing out the Holy Grail and opening it up. _"Crisis Make Up!"_

A flock of rainbow butterflies surrounded Sailor Moon, wrapping her in a cocoon of light. When the cocoon shattered, Sailor Moon had transformed again. Now, she had two wing-like barrettes in her hair, her earrings were no longer dangling moons, but simply crescent moons affixed to her ears, her choker was now yellow with a red heart in the center, the stripes on her collar changed from white to yellow and her shoulder pads were now translucent and more wing-like in shape. The large bow on the back of the uniform was now long, white and billowy with a yellow belt around her waist, and her skirt was now white with a yellow and blue border at the bottom.

"You... wretches..." Nerissa gasped, trying to pick herself up before the next attack.

"This game's _over_," Super Sailor Moon proclaimed. _"Rainbow Moon Heartache!"_

Super Sailor Moon once again performed the same twirls and spins she had with the Moon Spiral Heart Attack, only this time, instead of a large energy heart, she unleashed a spiral of energy ribbons with hearts imprinted on them that all converged on Nerissa at once, exploding into a brilliant rainbow that floored Nerissa.

"That's your cue to leave," Nick proclaimed.

"Ugh... I guess I underestimated those _bonds _of yours," Nerissa admitted, picking herself up and dismissing the Dark Keyblade. "Cherish them while you still can, boy. Because soon enough, not even your bonds can save you from Meter's wrath."

Nerissa opened a dark corridor behind her and retreated into it before the trinity could wring any more questions out of her. After all, it was almost time.

Super Sailor Moon reverted to her normal self and walked up to Nick, high-fiving him rather enthusiastically before vanishing in a shower of golden crescent moons that reformed into the Lunar Heartbinder.

"That was amazing!" Maylin exclaimed. "I never thought I'd get to see my favorite childhood superhero in action!"

"And hey, maybe that means we'll visit her world someday," Haruka replied. "Since these Heartbinders can call on allies that _haven't_ been attacked by the Heartless, unlike all Nick's other summons..."

"Wow, Miss Haruka, you've gotten so strong," Spike gasped. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given this is _you_ we're talking about."

"Says the guy who was acting like a worrywart ever since she vanished the first time!" Trigger proclaimed, causing Spike to stumble in his flustered state.

"I-I wasn't acting like that _all _the time!" Spike shouted, only to be interrupted by Haruka laughing at her family's antics.

"You guys really haven't changed, have you?" Haruka giggled. "That's good, because, honestly, I hope you always stay the same quirky family I've grown to love."

Spike would have replied had the ground not started shaking again.

"Oh, for crying out loud, can't we just have a nice family reunion without the _damn ground quaking every five minutes?!_" Maylin shouted.

"Um, Maylin, I think we've got bigger problems to worry about then shaking ground right now," Haruka replied. "Like, maybe, I don't know, probably _that_?!"

Nick looked ahead just in time for another sand dune to explode upwards, releasing a gargantuan monster resembling a large, skeletal parrot. Its body was covered in violet plumage and it had a jeweled, gold collar around its neck. Its tail was comprised of several skulls linked together, while its wings were comprised of four gold cutlasses with alternating violet and red gems set in their guards. The topmost cutlass in each wing ended in a hook, and none of the cutlasses were actually connected to each other. The creature's head sported yellow eyes and a jeweled violet and gold crown, its mouth was, of all things, a brown treasure chest filled with gold coins with gold lining, and black spikes acting as teeth, with its Heartless emblem on the top of its crown.

"I have never seen such a creature before," Cleric stated. "It does not appear in any of my databases."

"Possibly because it's a Heartless!" Haruka shouted. "We've gotta fry that thing!"

However, the Ruler of the Sky simply flew away, almost as if it deemed the trinity beneath its notice.

"Wait, why is it ditching us?" Nick wondered.

Haruka watched the Ruler of the Sky in flight, trying to discern its flight pattern and find out where exactly it was going.

Then the Ruler of the Sky began to ascend.

For one horrifying moment, Haruka's thoughts were still.

Then, the realization struck her with all the force of a runaway train.

"Oh, hell, it's going to attack Mars!" Haruka near-screamed as she re-summoned her keyblade. "Because all the actual humans are up there!"

"Oh, that's _twenty_ kinds of low," Maylin growled, summoning Counterpoint to her hands. "We gotta catch that thing!"

"Only problem?" Nick stated, switching his keyblade to Knockout Punch and Formchanging into Spike Trap. "It looks like it's flying too fast to catch up to!"

Just then, Reeves had an idea, and turned to Cleric. "Can you contact the airship?" Reeves asked.

"I will get right to that," Cleric responded, activating his transmitter to send a call.

"Wait, you guys have an _airship_?" Maylin gasped.

It didn't take long for Haruka to connect the dots, and her worried expression quickly turned into a nostalgic smile. "You guys still keep in contact with Flyer?" Haruka asked.

"We've used him a lot lately," Spike admitted. "While you were gone, we kept coming back to Mars, hoping we'd see you there. Even Flyer was worried."

"Yeah, Flyer might be our only chance of catching that Heartless before he reaches Mars," Haruka replied. "Let's get moving, everybody!"

It was only about another minute before a gigantic, dual-winged airship flew down to meet the group, extending its loading ramp to allow everyone on board.

"_It has been far too long, Miss Haruka,"_ Flyer's artificial intelligence voice proclaimed once the robots were seated in their respective positions. _"It is good to see you again."_

"Same to you, Flyer," Haruka replied. "Sorry it couldn't have been a more normal and emotional reunion, but we've got a problem that only you can help us with. Can you catch up to that large bird-thing that's heading towards Mars? We need to stop it before it attacks the human colonies."

"_Consider it done,"_ Flyer answered as it began to speed up and ascend into the sky, slowly but surely catching up to the Ruler of the Sky.

As Flyer continued to approach, the Ruler of the Sky turned its head towards the airship and fired off large bullets of solid water. Thankfully, they simply bounced harmlessly off of Flyer's shields.

"It seems like it wants to play," Trigger laughed. "Finally, some action!"

"You all man the weapons," Maylin exclaimed. "We're going up to take care of this thing personally."

**("My Best Friend" by Yui Horie plays)**

Once they'd reached the outer deck, Maylin raised Counterpoint and fired off a powerful Thunder spell to strike the Ruler of the Sky and get its attention.

"Hey, bird boy, down here! You want some, then come get some!" Maylin challenged. The Ruler of the Sky took the bait, diverting its flight path and flying back towards Flyer, eventually settling for floating just above the deck.

"Let's dance!" Nick shouted.

The Ruler of the Sky reared back before dipping low and charging towards the trinity. Nick stopped it in its tracks with a lunging forward punch, followed by a downward double-fisted slam and finishing with a dashing uppercut that rocked the Heartless' head back.

Haruka saw an opening while the Ruler of the Sky was reeling back, Formchanging into Petal Blades and rushing in to attack the neck joint with multiple swings, each strike creating a localized burst of flower petals to add to the damage.

Eventually, the Ruler of the Sky swung its head to push its attackers away, then floated away to just outside the range of the deck.

"Hey, no fair, cluck-head!" Maylin shouted, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and peppering the Ruler of the Sky with rapid-fire blasts.

After a few rounds of this, the Ruler of the Sky swung one of its wings and caused a gigantic icicle to erupt from the deck in the middle of the trinity, forcing them to scatter to avoid it. However, this gave the Ruler of the Sky time to start attacking Flyer's aft with swift and vicious claw strikes from its wings.

"H-Hey, watch the paint job!" Maylin growled, blasting the Ruler of the Sky in the face with a Firaga to push it away from Flyer.

"Guys, how are we doing down there?" Haruka asked.

"_Shields at 62 percent,"_ Flyer responded.

"Guess we gotta step it up before Flyer takes too much damage," Maylin proclaimed, Formchanging into Spell Staff as the Ruler of the Sky approached again. "Yeah, you want some more, bird brain?!"

The Ruler of the Sky roared before charging straight for Flyer. Maylin stopped it by swinging her Spell Staff and creating an explosion of ice in front of her that halted the Heartless, giving Nick another chance to start punching it in the face.

After landing at least four more punches, Nick's spiked knuckles started glowing, which indicated he had unlocked this keyblade's other Formchange.

"Okay, let's see what this one brings to the table," Nick quipped. _"Formchange: Full Swing!"_

The spiked knuckles dissolved into small wisps of light that flew into Nick's hands, reforming into an elongated, magenta-tinted baseball bat.

"Well, looks like it's time to hit a home run," Nick teased as he smashed the bat into the Ruler of the Sky's face, glad to see it reel back in obvious pain. Nick juked to the right to avoid a slash from one of its cutlass wings as he began to attack the neck joint with slow, but powerful swings.

Before he could land a decisive blow, however, the Ruler of the Sky lurched backwards, slashing at Flyer's aft with its wings, then charging straight into it.

"_Shields at two percent,"_ Flyer proclaimed. _"Further combat is ill-advised."_

"We've gotta take this thing out before it takes _you_ out, Flyer!" Haruka shouted. "We're _boned_ if you get taken down!"

As if something had been listening, the Ruler of the Sky flew to just ahead of Flyer's flight path and readied itself for one last charge.

"_That thing is going to destroy the shields AND us if it connects with that next attack!"_ Spike shouted.

"I've got an idea," Nick quipped, clutching his bat and rushing to the front of the ship just as the Ruler of the Sky began its final charge.

Nick readied his bat, adopting a baseball batter's stance, even twirling the bat slightly as the giant Heartless closed in.

Once he gauged the Ruler of the Sky to be close enough, Nick swung his bat forward with all his might, the bat's "blade" colliding with the Ruler of the Sky's head with a rather sickening CRUNCH that echoed through the sky.

The impact was so strong that the Ruler of the Sky's head was bent back almost double from the home run swing, the Heartless tumbling backwards and off to the right, passing harmlessly by Flyer as it evaporated into dark particles and released a large heart.

"HOME RUN!" Maylin shouted. "He is _outta here_!"

"Nice batting, Nick," Haruka giggled. "You oughta try out for the baseball team back home."

"Yeah, but Sheffield sadly doesn't have a baseball team, as far as I'm aware," Nick replied, his bat reverting back into Knockout Punch.

"Is everything all right down there?" Haruka asked. "That thing didn't graze the shields when Nick knocked it out of the park, did it?"

"_Shields at five percent and rising,"_ Flyer proclaimed. _"Shield recharge is going smoothly."_

"Oh, thank goodness," Haruka sighed in relief as the trinity made their way back down into the ship, to the command center. "That was a heck of a fight, honestly."

"See, Spike? I told you Haruka can take care of herself now," Angela teased, noting Spike's expression.

"Hmmm... that is strange," Cleric proclaimed. "I am detecting another anomaly just ahead of us."

Nick glanced out the cockpit window and watched as swirls of light converged to form a large keyhole in the sky.

"Well, haven't seen _that_ in a long time," Maylin quipped. "Wanna lock it, Nick?"

"By all means," Nick stated, raising Knockout Punch and aiming for the keyhole. Light shined around the keyblade's teeth before firing a shining beam that passed harmlessly through the cockpit window and into the keyhole, causing reality to shatter around it briefly before it glowed brightly and sealed off with a loud click, finally disappearing as Flyer passed by it.

"I'm honestly surprised we haven't found any other keyholes on this journey," Nick quipped.

"Well, Remnant and the Clover Kingdom are already locked up tight," Haruka answered. "I guess we were just busy taking care of the Seekers of Darkness and making sure they didn't muck anything up."

"And that's another thing I'm wondering," Maylin responded. "Why exactly do they keep insisting that everything's going as planned when we've clearly stomped... what, _five_ of them now?"

"I guess we'll find out once we find Meter and take _her_ down," Nick quipped. "Let's head back to the Gummi Ship and get moving."

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, we've gotta get going," Haruka answered. "We have other worlds to visit, and we've got a psychotic villain to beat down before she forges what's basically the ultimate weapon and wrecking everything."

"That hooded nutball we fought earlier is one of Meter's minions, the Seekers of Darkness," Maylin explained. "So, yeah, they're bad news."

"So, I have to apologize, everyone, but we've gotta borrow Haruka for at least a little longer," Nick stated.

In response, Angela just smiled. "Take as much time as you need," Angela answered. The other robots nodded as well. "Now that we know you're okay and can take care of yourself, we'll be all right."

"Make no mistake, I'm _definitely_ coming back to visit you all again once our journey's over," Haruka giggled. "We have _so much_ to catch up on, after all!"

Cleric floated over to Nick and opened a compartment on his chest, revealing a small charm shaped like Flyer. "I believe this will grant you luck on your quest," Cleric proclaimed. "Please accept it, Nick, as our thanks for keeping Miss Haruka safe and sound."

Nick reached out to claim the charm and attach it to his keyblade, then swung it to transform it into a new weapon. This keyblade had a circular guard modeled after Trigger's UFO-like body, the handle and blade was a replica of Angela's katana, the hilt consisted of Flyer's wings spreading out, the teeth was a small replica of that cute dress Haruka had worn while searching the city so long ago, and the token was connected by a keychain made of Trigger's bullets. As Nick studied his new keyblade, the words _Shooting Star_ ran through his head.

"And if you guys see Kanato, tell him that I'm doing okay," Haruka added. "Because, despite how he tends to act, I'm pretty sure he's worried, too."

Haruka immediately glared in Maylin's direction before the mage could tease her about it. _Oof, now I know how Nick felt when I teased him on our first adventure,_ Maylin thought.

Nick calmed Maylin down by patting her on the shoulder, to which she responded by kissing him on the cheek. "By the by, Nick, I hope you don't think I'm trying to monopolize your time with Cornelia or anything," Maylin asked.

"Hey, it's not a problem, Maylin," Nick responded. "Cornelia and the rest of W.I.T.C.H. is doing their own thing, but I'm sure we'll see them when we're done with this quest, since we'll most likely all be teaming up to take down Meter."

Nick glanced out the nearby cockpit window into the skies around them. _Now that I ask, I wonder how Marie's doing..._

* * *

"Up here, scallop boy!" Marie shouted, leaping from the nearby cliff she'd jumped up to in order to get the drop on the Orcus that was still hounding her.

The Orcus only had time to glance upwards as Marie struck, effectively splitting the stubborn Heartless in half with an overhead slash from Moonlight.

Reaching out in disbelief, the Orcus attempted one last slash before freezing and exploding into wisps of darkness, also releasing the heart it was carrying with it.

The whole reason Marie had been chasing it all across the dark realm.

"Now die and _stay_ dead, freak," Marie sighed as she moved to retrieve the heart that the Orcus had snatched away from her.

_Hey, thanks for coming to save me._

"No problem," Marie giggled. "You must be Rose, Queen of Summer, right?"

_Wait, you know me?!_

"Freya's heart is resting with mine, and she's told me so much about you," Marie answered, resting Moonlight on her shoulder. "I came to the realm of darkness in order to save you and the other queens. You may be just what we need to take Meter down."

_...Meter's trying to forge the χ-blade, isn't she?_

"That seems to be the gist of it," Marie replied as she absorbed Rose's heart into her own, where Freya's heart was currently resting. "My friends and I are trying to take the initiative and stop her from gathering the pieces she needs."

_I really wish I knew why she turned into such an arrogant, self-serving... oof, sorry, Freya, I didn't mean to..._

"Hopefully we'll find out soon," Marie quipped, leaping back to avoid the strike of another Darkling that had tried to claw at her, then lunging forward to cut it in half. "Because from what Freya told me, the Meter you all knew is long gone.

_Oh, that's so sad... it just makes me want to cry..._

"You're not the only ones, Rose," Marie sighed as she began to climb up a large stone ramp into another cave tunnel, following the ping that her own heart was giving her.

After descending down a set of stairs, Marie came up to yet another strange sight, no doubt the ruins of another world lost to the darkness long ago.

This structure in particular resembled an old-world Japanese shrine, with the front gate crumbled in front of the actual shrine, which still stood mostly intact despite being abandoned in the dark world for such a long time. Not too far away was the shattered remains of an old-fashioned water mill, and what appeared to be a cleaver and a ceremonial hoe rested in front of the shrine gate.

"Oof," Marie quipped. "Wonder what was going on in _this _world?"

_Seems like something pretty tragic,_ Rose answered. _I can still sense residual memories of some of the people who may have lived at this shrine, and... yikes, let's just say it's not pretty._

"Yeah, that cleaver's got blood on it, and I don't do 'gory'," Marie quipped, shuddering slightly.

_Same here._

A loud gasp resounded in Marie's mind, which meant that Rose must have sensed something. "What is it?" Marie asked.

_There's trouble coming up fast behind you!_

Marie quickly re-summoned Moonlight and swung it around her to deflect the charge of her attacker, a large twister-like formation of demonic-looking red-eyed Shadows, all clumped together and spinning violently like a tornado.

"Oh, good lord, I've had _enough_ of these things," Marie groaned, shifting into a fighting stance.

_You've fought Demon Towers before?_

"These things were _everywhere_ during my friends' last adventure," Marie replied as the Demon Tower twisted around and lunged for her. "They were _really_ annoying!"

Marie lunged to the left to avoid the Demon Tower, then unleashed a Dark Firaga that struck true and ripped a clump of Shadows off of the twister.

_Oh, you use dark powers, too?_

"Yeah, but I embrace my darkness and don't let it control me," Marie responded as the Demon Tower sank into the ground, expanding outwards like a shockwave and causing random upheavals of those demonic, red-eyed Shadows. "I learned my lesson about that the hard way, let's just say."

While Marie continued to dodge the Shadow pillars, she watched for the spot where the Demon Tower would resurface, and the instant it did, she performed Dark Break, leaping into the air and bouncing off the top of the Demon Tower like a pogo stick with Moonlight. She did this five times before finishing with a Fell Slash, a rapid falling strike that ended with a flourishing spin attack.

Despite this, the Demon Tower still stood.

"Guess I gotta get serious," Marie proclaimed. _"Formchange: Crescent Staff!"_

The Demon Tower bum-rushed Marie, only for her to counter with a wide swing from her Crescent Staff.

_WOW! Did you just transform your keyblade?! None of us could do that!_

"Benefits of being a Keyblade Master, I guess," Marie giggled as she continued to wail on the Demon Tower with spinning strikes and long-range stabs.

Once she finally decided she'd had enough, Marie raised her staff, channeling its power to create a projection of the moon above her. Marie took a few steps forward, spinning her staff around her and causing the moon to whirl around her body, ravaging the Demon Tower when it decided to venture closer, before leaping into the air and coming down with an overhead swing that thrust the moon into the ground and caused it to explode outwards, the explosion of energy finally defeating the Demon Tower.

Marie kept her keyblade raised even as the Demon Tower shuddered violently before collapsing into a pile of red-eyed Shadows that evaporated quickly, still expecting a sneak attack. Only when the area was calm again did Marie relax her stance.

"Yeah, let's _not_ fight one of those things again," Marie quipped.

_They say that the appearance of Demon Towers, alongside its stronger Demon Tides, are surely the harbinger of some great evil..._

"Most likely Meter," Marie answered. "My big brother got sideswiped by a Demon Tide earlier and lost most of his powers from it. So, yeah, we've officially got big trouble."

Suddenly, Marie glanced towards the opposite horizon, no doubt guided by Rose's feelings resonating in her own heart. "W-what is it, Rose?" Marie asked.

_I can sense Amber's heart! She must be close by!_

"She's the last one who needs a ride out of this place, so let's get moving, shall we?" Marie quipped as she raised her keyblade and dashed off through the other end of the cave, towards the heart in question.

_Just one more passenger, and then I can get back to the realm of light, _Marie thought. _I honestly miss my big brother. I hope he's doing all right, wherever he is right now..._

Marie leaped over a spire, then began to slide down another long ramp, taking her further into the depths of the realm of darkness. And despite this, she still felt... off.

Though, to her, it didn't feel like it was the darkness all around her trying to smother her, drag her back down into its depths. She was stronger than that now.

No, this feeling just felt... wrong.

Like something was about to go wrong very soon, and she needed to get her butt in gear if she wanted to prevent that from coming to pass.

So Marie decided to listen to that urgent thought, stepping up her pace while slashing through another Darkling on the way to her destination.

It seemed like the battle for the fate of everything was set to begin soon.

And Marie wanted to finish her business here so she could stand by her big brother's side during that battle.

_Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn't be anywhere else,_ Marie thought as she continued her journey.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Shooting Star  
**_Base Strength: _**8  
**_Base Magic: _**12  
**_Ability: _**Magic Galvanizer **(Increase the damage you deal with magic in proportion to the length of your combo. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange 1: _**Wings of Freedom** (Transform your keyblade into dual angel wings for long-range melee attacks and powerful mobility options.)  
_Formchange 2:_** Meteor Shower** (Transform your keyblade into a shooting star fragment that can be bounced between enemies for multi-hit attacks.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with an emphasis on magic, representing Haruka's home world and the freedom to soar that she longed for.

* * *

_Link get!_

**Sailor Moon, Champion of Love and Justice  
**_MP Required: _**100  
**_Description:_ A link focusing on team attacks, Sailor Moon will fight alongside you and lend you her power to enhance your own abilities.  
_Anime of Origin: _**Sailor Moon S (1994)  
****Commands:  
**_Moon Tiara Magic:_ Hold R2 to enter a targeting mode, and press X to throw the Moon Tiara like a boomerang towards enemies. The tiara can hit on the rebound as well. As Super Sailor Moon, this move throws the tiara twice with one press.  
_Moon Twilight Flash: _Press and hold [] to defend against attacks, potentially reflecting them back to the attacker. As Super Sailor Moon, the guard becomes a barrier around you, defending from all angles and always reflecting attacks back to the attacker.  
_Moon Spiral Heart Attack: _[FINISHER] Press /\ to have Sailor Moon blast the targeted enemy with a giant heart that pierces defenses. Your Magic stat determines damage.  
_Crisis Make-Up!_: Fill the Situation Gauge through combat, then press /\ to have Sailor Moon transform into Super Sailor Moon, enhancing her abilities.  
_Rainbow Moon Heartache: _[FINISHER] Press /\ as Super Sailor Moon to blast the targeted enemy and any nearby enemies with a barrage of heart ribbons that pierces defenses. Your Magic stat determines damage.  
**Abilities:  
**_Doubleflight:_ Press O after a jump to perform a second jump.  
_Glide:_ Hold O while in midair to glide at high speed.  
_Leaf Bracer:_ Always finish casting recovery magic, even if you are hit by attacks in the process.  
_Combo Master: _Continue your attacks even if your swings miss the enemy.  
_Lucky Strike:_ Increase how often enemies drop items. Stack the ability to increase the effect.

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: Well, my fellow travelers, what do you make of this world?

Haruka: Well, once again, it _looks _pretty normal on the outside. But I bet there's gonna be a lot of... um, Maylin? You've got that look that I just had earlier today.

Maylin: If it's the same look, Haruka, then I'm pretty sure I know why.

Sakura: Oh, my goodness, Meiling, is that really you?

Maylin: H-Holy crap, _Sakura_?!

Haruka: Well, it looks like we've found Maylin's home world, eh, Nick?

Nick: My question is, who's _this_ creep in the cloak?

Sakura: Hey, I don't appreciate you trying to hurt my friends like that! _O key that hides the power of dreams, reveal your true nature before me... Release!_

Maylin: Oh, _wow,_ Sakura got a major upgrade! But that usually means trouble's on the loose around here...

Nick: When is it _not_ when we're involved? Next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "Home Sweet Home"!

Nick, Maylin, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	7. Home Sweet Home

"Who actually said loop-de-loops weren't fun?" Maylin giggled as the Gummi Ship came out of a warp tunnel that had taken them for quite a ride through the Misty Stream. "Because _that was fun_!"

"Says you," Nick quipped, clutching the sides of his head to recover from the wild ride. "Need I remind you that I grew up absolutely _hating_ roller coasters?"

"Didn't you say that you actually ralphed all over that poor kid?" Haruka giggled.

"And I thought I told you to _never bring that up around Maylin?!_" Nick shot back. "You _know_ she loves collecting ammunition to tease _both_ of us!"

"It's just what I do," Maylin giggled as another world appeared in the distance.

Once again, it looked mostly normal, resembling a Japanese town with a school, a cityscape, and even a strange star circling around it.

Haruka would have made a quip about the odd star had she not noticed Maylin staring wide-eyed at the new world.

And she definitely recognized the look Maylin was giving. After all, it was practically the same way she'd looked upon discovering the previous world was her own home world.

"Look familiar, Maylin?" Haruka asked, knowing exactly what Maylin was feeling at the moment.

"How could it _not_?" Maylin gasped. "That's Tomoeda... _my home_."

"Well, then let's go and see how things are doing down there," Nick replied. "Shall we, Haruka?"

"Oh, you know it," Haruka responded. "Prepare for landing, everybody!"

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Maylin Rae / Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** For their next stop, the trinity has returned to Maylin's home world, the seemingly-normal Japanese town of Tomoeda. Despite the odd circumstances, Maylin is simply happy to see her friends again, but the friendship hugs may have to wait, as yet another Seeker of Darkness is unleashing strange creatures on the city, and they all seem to resemble Sakura's old Clow Cards. Can the trinity get to the bottom of this Clow Card catastrophe? And are they prepared for what's to come?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**For Today's World:** And for our final "normal" world of the story (as the next/last three chapters are the story's "endgame"), we're heading to Maylin's home world, the world of _Cardcaptor Sakura_, as eagle-eyed readers of the second Key to Her Heart may have seen. Specifically, we're going to _Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card _episode 13, which was Meiling's return in the anime (was she in the Clear Card manga? I haven't read that manga yet).

* * *

Episode 7: Home Sweet Home

Naturally, Maylin couldn't help but gawk at how familiar everything seemed as she gazed around Tomoeda. After all, she hadn't been here since she'd lost her world six years ago, so she didn't know how much time had passed _here_ as opposed to her own.

"It still feels the same as it's always been," Maylin gasped.

"How long has it been for you, Maylin?" Haruka asked.

"I was eleven," Maylin answered. "If I remember correctly, Sakura had just confessed her feelings for Syaoran (took her long enough), and then she and I were going to talk about if he felt the same way or not when the Heartless attacked. Everything after that is a blur, so I have no clue how much time's passed here."

"You said something about your friend Sakura being a magician?" Haruka asked.

Maylin would have answered if she hadn't noticed someone approaching them.

It was a teenage girl with cropped, shoulder-length pale hair, piercing, sky-blue eyes and two, long odangos, wearing a blue leotard with white trimmings and a red triangle on her chest, long tail fins, long finger-less gloves with high and wide-finned cuffs on the tops, and white guards on the back of the hands, and a pair of blue and white, thigh-length boots.

And her whole body was glowing softly.

And she was charging straight for the trinity at ludicrous speeds.

"INCOMING!" Nick shouted.

The Fight leaped through the air, aiming a flying punch for Maylin's face that the young mage blocked by summoning Counterpoint to her hands and raising it quickly.

"Back off, lady!" Nick shouted, summoning Shooting Star into his hands and firing a Thunder spell into The Fight's chest that sent her stumbling back.

"W-wait a minute, is that the Fight card?" Maylin gasped. "I thought Sakura had sealed that thing away ages ago!"

"Whatever it is, it clearly wants to, well, _fight_ us," Haruka quipped, summoning Divine Rose to her hands. "So let's give it what it wants."

The Fight took a few steps back, assessing its opponents before smiling and shifting into a karate stance.

Nick was the first to move in and attack, leaping towards The Fight and striking her exposed shoulder four times before leaping over her to avoid her counter-attack, then lunging forward with his new finisher, Triple Rush, a lightning-fast combo of three wide spinning attacks.

Despite the damage she'd taken, The Fight seemed positively exhilarated, lunging back into the battle and lashing out with rapid-fire punches, Nick swinging his keyblade to counter each punch as best he could.

While The Fight was distracted dueling Nick, Maylin took that opportunity to Formchange into Magic Blasters and fire away.

The Fight glanced back at Maylin and grinned, almost as if she recognized her. After all, Maylin and The Fight had fought each other before Sakura intervened to seal it away initially.

"Oh, what, you want some?!" Maylin shouted, Formchanging into Spell Staff. "Then come get some!"

The Fight pushed Nick backwards and ran back to challenge Maylin, who swung Spell Staff in response to that challenge.

As Maylin moved in, The Fight backflipped over Maylin in an attempt to surprise her.

"Sorry, Fight, but it's been six years, and I've learned a lot since then," Maylin laughed, raising Spell Staff. "Those old-school tricks won't work on me anymore!"

As The Fight aimed a double-fisted overhead slam for her, Maylin slammed the pommel of Spell Staff into the ground, unleashing an explosion of ice crystals all around her that threw The Fight back.

Deciding to make herself useful (since The Fight seemed to be mostly going after Maylin), Haruka raised Divine Rose and Formchanged into Rose Whip so she could attack from afar. From what little she'd seen, she gauged The Fight to be pretty much an all-melee fighter.

Nick jumped in and attacked with a Falling Slash, where he leaped above his opponent and delivered an ultra-fast diving strike, causing The Fight to stumble back.

"All right, Fight, let's see if you've still got any left in you!" Nick exclaimed, Shooting Star glowing brightly. _"Formchange: Wings of Freedom!"_

Shooting Star dissolved into light, reforming around Nick and causing two large angel wings to sprout from his back, as well as two more to sprout from his arms.

From somewhere far away, one Sakura Kinomoto was watching the battle in a mix of awe and confusion (awe at the impressive battle going on and confusion as to why The Fight was still around if all the Sakura Cards had vanished), while, naturally, her partner Tomoyo Daidouji was recording the battle on her video camera.

The Fight quickly recovered itself and lunged forward with a double-fisted forward strike, only for Nick to spin around with his arm wings and easily deflect the strike before The Fight even got close.

Taking his chance, Nick leaped over The Fight, his back wings keeping him aloft so The Fight couldn't catch him and allowing him to bombard The Fight from above with a barrage of spells.

The Fight crossed her arms to tank a Firaga blast, only to be stunned by a Thunder spell to the back courtesy of Maylin.

"Finish that faker, Nick!" Maylin shouted.

"Already on it!" Nick shouted, diving towards The Fight and slashing both of his arm wings at the same time, followed by a prolonged spin attack that spiraled razor-sharp feathers around him.

This was enough to end the fight, as The Fight convulsed for a few seconds before exploding into a shower of magic sparkles and dark wisps.

"And that's all she wrote!" Maylin exclaimed. "One lame Clow Card reject toasted!"

"You've dealt with that thing before, Maylin?" Haruka asked.

"That was actually one of the Clow Cards that I got a chance to fight myself before Sakura sealed it away," Maylin answered. "And yeah, she's essentially a magician. It's different from being a mage, like I am. See, it actually started when..."

Maylin's explanations were interrupted when she heard a click, no doubt from Tomoyo's camera, and she turned around slowly to see Sakura and Tomoyo staring at her from just across the street.

Suddenly, Maylin forgot how to speak as Sakura approached her, the Sealing Wand in her hand, though it looked very different now. The head of this wand was a silver, six-pointed star with smaller five pointed stars on each tip inside a circle with a spike in each side of the star, and a large, feathered wing below the circle.

"M-Meiling?" Sakura asked. "Is... is that you?"

And those words finally broke the young mage, as she dismissed Counterpoint before charging across the street to throw herself at the Cardcaptor, hugging Sakura tightly as if letting go would separate them again.

"I missed you _so much_, Sakura..." Maylin proclaimed.

"It's... only been two years, Meiling," Sakura giggled, nonetheless returning Maylin's hug.

"Wait, it's only been _two years_ here?!" Maylin exclaimed.

"Remember, Maylin, time flows differently between worlds, especially when we're traveling the Ocean Between," Haruka stated.

"Hoe?" Sakura quipped. "'Between worlds'?"

"Well..." Maylin laughed. "I guess I've got a lot of explanations to do, huh?"

"Naturally," Tomoyo giggled. "It sounds like quite the story."

As the group walked down the opposite street so Maylin could explain everything, they failed to notice a hooded figure watching them from the top of a nearby building, flipping some very familiar-looking cards between his fingers.

"So, is that why you're older?" Tomoyo asked. "Because if you're seventeen when we're still only thirteen, and you were _definitely_ the same age as us..."

"Like we said, time flows differently in different worlds," Maylin answered. "And add to that all the time I spent trying to find this world after it had been restored. _That_ was definitely a time guzzler, if you catch my drift."

"And it didn't help that this world was basically frozen in time while it had been swallowed by the darkness," Haruka added.

"Oh, I was wondering," Sakura cut in. "Did you change your name or something? Because your friends call you Maylin now, right?"

Maylin sighed, glancing at her reflection in the blade of Counterpoint. "I wasn't strong enough to protect the people I cared about," Maylin admitted. "I _hated_ myself for that. When I got my keyblade, I changed my name so that I could distance myself from the scared girl who couldn't do anything but watch as her life was consumed by the darkness. And I often worried what you would think of me for that, Sakura, but..."

Maylin was cut off when Sakura leaped over to hug her, much like earlier.

"None of that matters, Meiling," Sakura replied. "I'm just happy that you're all right."

"That's all I could have ever asked for, Sakura," Maylin replied. "But now... now that I know you're all right, and now that I'm far stronger than I ever was... I think I'm done distancing myself from my old self. I've had enough running."

"You know, Li would be so proud to hear you say that," Sakura giggled.

"I guess that means we can start calling you by your original name now, right, partner?" Haruka laughed.

"Yup!" Meiling proclaimed. "Good ol' Meiling Li is back in the saddle!"

Tomoyo was looking in the opposite direction, having noticed something odd approaching them. After zooming in through her camera, she realized that it was a mass of shadow, shaped like a blob and slithering down the street.

"Um, what's _that_?" Tomoyo asked.

Almost as if something had been waiting for that question, the blob grew in size until it shifted into its true form as a large figure covered by a black cloak and hood, though this was a normal-looking cloak and not the "black coat" worn by the Organization and the Seekers of Darkness.

"W-Wait, isn't that The Shadow?!" Sakura exclaimed, summoning her Dream Wand to her hands as the trinity summoned their keyblades. "Why are all my old Clow Cards showing up like this?!"

"I'm willing to bet that the Seekers of Darkness are messing around," Meiling quipped as The Shadow beared down on them. "It wouldn't surprise me."

The Shadow launched a large dark tendril for the group, only for it to stop just short of them, its figure wavering slightly before bursting like a popped balloon.

The cause was revealed to be a devilish-looking Heartless that resembled a red-and-orange suited jester with a forward-curling hat and a large cape around most of its body, with the Heartless symbol printed on the cape.

"Wow, I've never seen a Clow Card like _that_ before," Tomoyo quipped, already recording.

"You think it's another Clear Card?" Sakura asked.

"If only we were that lucky, Sakura," Meiling replied, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and aiming for the Wicked Dealer. "That thing's a Heartless, monsters created from the darkness of people's hearts."

"And I think _this_ one means business," Haruka quipped.

"Let's mop up, everybody!" Nick exclaimed.

The Wicked Dealer twirled around before charging towards the group. Maylin was already on the offensive, firing magical bullets from her blasters...

...only for the bullets to simply bounce off of the Wicked Dealer.

"W-what the...?!" was all the time Meiling had to say before the Wicked Dealer struck, slashing twice with oversized playing cards and sending Meiling stumbling backwards.

"All right, _that_ was a bad move, Jackle!" Haruka shouted, Formchanging into Rose Whip and attacking from afar, only for the whip to once again harmlessly bounce off of the Heartless' body. "Wow, this isn't getting us anywhere..."

Nick decided to try a different tactic, running under the Wicked Dealer while it was distracted with attempting to cut Haruka apart. Before the Wicked Dealer could retaliate, Nick cast an Aeroga spell around him, the furious spiral of air blades knocking the Wicked Dealer into the sky, but still doing no visible damage.

Nick would have been frustrated if he hadn't noticed that the Wicked Dealer was wildly flailing to keep its cape on after having it nearly torn off by the Aeroga spell.

"I've _got it_!" Nick exclaimed. "Girls, that cape of his lets him negate attacks, but only in the areas it covers! We need to get that cape off if we're gonna do any noticeable damage!"

"Then let me take a whack at it," Sakura proclaimed, holding up her Dream Wand and procuring a large, Clow-like card with a clear background from her pocket. _"Gale, become howling winds to disrupt our enemy!"_

Sakura tossed the Gale Card into the air before tapping it with her Dream Wand, releasing a small bird-like creature with a fish-like tail, two pairs of thin wings and a long tuft of hair sprouting from its little round head.

Gale did a quick flip before thrusting its bladed tail forward and unleashing a great gust of wind towards the Wicked Dealer that blew it backwards, ripping its cape from its body.

"There's our chance! Pour it on!" Haruka exclaimed, lashing out with the Rose Whip and keeping the Wicked Dealer in its place so Meiling could batter it with a barrage from Magic Blasters.

Nick took that opportunity to Formchange into Wings of Freedom and charge in, slashing multiple times with his wings, but it wasn't long until the Wicked Dealer's cape regenerated, and it retaliated with a tornado of cards that forced the trinity to back away.

Thankfully, Nick was able to stay on top of the Wicked Dealer with the mobility advantage that Wings of Freedom granted him, staying aloft long enough to get under the Wicked Dealer and cast another Aeroga spell.

The Wicked Dealer dove to the right to avoid the Aeroga, only to be blasted by Gale once again and lose its cape.

Sakura wasted no time in reaching for another Clear Card to aid them. _"Hail, freeze our enemy!"_ Sakura chanted, as the Hail appeared and fired off a collection of spiky snowflakes to freeze the Wicked Dealer in its place and allow the trinity to continue wailing on it.

"Hey, I think we've got it on the ropes!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Already?" Meiling wondered, firing off a Thunder spell to blast the Wicked Dealer just before its cape regenerated. "Seems kinda anti-climactic, huh?"

"Probably because it doesn't have much defense, since it relies on its cape to no-sell everything," Nick quipped.

"Probably means that we should finish this quickly," Meiling stated, Formchanging into Spell Staff and swinging it hard enough to send the Wicked Dealer stumbling through the air despite the cape being up.

This gave Nick the chance to slip under the Wicked Dealer and cast Aeroga once again, buffed by Wings of Freedom into becoming a small, localized tornado surrounded by feathers.

Once more the Wicked Dealer lost its cape, and this time, Nick moved in for the finishing blow, switching his keyblade to Starlight, Formchanging into Second Form S, and slicing upwards to knock the Wicked Dealer into the air before finishing it off with an Ancient Light.

The cape was the first to dissolve as the Wicked Dealer fell to the ground, reaching for its playing cards before falling on its face and evaporating into little wisps of darkness, a glowing heart escaping from it and flying into the sky.

"Are we just too good, or are we _just too good_?" Meiling giggled once the area was calm again. "I already feel like we're ready to take on the Dark Mother now!"

"Wow, you've _really_ gotten so much stronger, Meiling," Sakura stated. "I remember all the times you used to complain about not having any magic at all."

"Yeah, those times were frustrating," Meiling answered. "But once I got my keyblade, that was the end of _those_ worries."

"Hey, I think that Heartless dropped something," Tomoyo cut in, pointing to a small trinket that was resting where the Wicked Dealer had fallen. Nick moved to pick it up and saw that it was a wine red-colored Heartbinder with a computer chip symbol embedded on it.

"Another ally for the entourage, huh, Nick?" Haruka proclaimed.

"Looks that way," Nick quipped, placing the Heartbinder in a pocket on his coat. "We're really racking up the Heartbinders here, aren't we?"

"Wait, wait, Sakura, what was that you said earlier about your old Clow Cards showing up all over the city?" Meiling asked as the group walked back to the suburbs.

"Well, a few months ago, all my old Sakura Cards were completely cleared, and I couldn't use them," Sakura explained. "Ever since, a bunch of brand new cards have been popping up, and I've been capturing them ever since. I'm still not sure what happened or why there's _more_ Clow Cards showing up, but for all I know, my old cards are gone. Which surprised me when I had to fight The Windy just a few days ago..."

"Yeah, when Sakura tried to capture it, it just vanished, like it was never even there to begin with," Tomoyo replied. "Over the past couple days, we've had to fight many other replicas of Sakura's old cards, and we still don't know who's behind it..."

"I'm willing to bet it's the Seekers of Darkness," Meiling answered as the group reached Tomoeda Middle School, where Sakura was currently attending. "They're a group of hoodlums wearing black cloaks that are searching for hearts of pure darkness. And I'm also willing to bet that they're doing this to cause enough chaos to flush one of those hearts out."

"Oh, I wish you wouldn't spoil the surprise."

Nick just sighed in frustration as he summoned his keyblade and turned to face the latest member of the Seekers of Darkness. He was a rather tall man with spiky, light-blue hair and similar-colored eyes, and was casually twirling a set of very familiar cards in his hands.

"How many of you nutballs _are_ there?!" Meiling shouted.

"Enough," the figure responded.

"Wait, aren't you Johnathan Ludmoore?" Haruka gasped. "You were trapped in the Book of Elements, right?"

"Not my finest hour, honestly," Ludmoore groaned. "Sealed away for eternity by a mere mortal boy writing in _my book_... as you can no doubt tell, I am eternally grateful for Meter granting me a second chance to enact my revenge on those wretched Guardians. And I guess I have to start with all of you first."

"Are you the one who's using all my old Clow Cards to attack the city?!" Sakura shouted.

"Precisely," Ludmoore laughed. "I knew you damned do-gooders would be here eventually, so I decided to create a little chaos and bring you running, so that I may end you with my own hands."

Meiling quickly summoned Counterpoint, lightning arcing along its blade. "Um, you must have been stuck in the book longer than we thought," Meiling taunted. "Because in case you haven't heard, we've stomped over literally _every single_ Seeker of Darkness that we've encountered so far! Nerissa, Phobos, Cedric, EVERYONE!"

"Yeah, it's getting _really_ annoying that you think you're going to beat us when we've beaten every last one of you back," Haruka replied. "You want to explain why _that_ is?"

"All you need to know is that everything is going according to plan," Ludmoore laughed. "You really think you're going to defeat the Dark Mother, but you stand no chance. Once the χ-blade has been forged, you wretched _heroes_ will never be a problem ever again."

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Meiling shouted, unleashing a powerful Blizzaga spell that exploded into a shower of ice crystals around Ludmoore, giving Nick ample time to move in and start attacking, landing four clean hits before finishing with a Magic Flash that sent Ludmoore into a tumble.

Haruka was over there quickly, slamming Divine Rose into the ground and unleashing an upheaval under Ludmoore that sent him into the air. Sakura wasted no time in summoning Gale to create a powerful gust that sent Ludmoore flying.

While tumbling through the air, Ludmoore righted himself and opened his eyes all the way, firing off his patented "killing beam" that he'd used to kill Cedric. The beams struck Meiling in the chest and pushed her backwards, but she quickly shook it off, seeming none the worse for wear.

"Nice try, but we're a lot stronger and tougher than snake man was!" Meiling proclaimed, countering with a burst of Waterga that soaked Ludmoore enough for Meiling to follow up with a Thundaga spell that did extra damage.

Nick took a step back to avoid another killing beam, knowing that even if the beam wasn't strong enough to kill them, it would probably hurt a decent bit. Feeling his new Heartbinder rustling around in his pocket, he decided to reach for it and end this fight quickly.

"Oh, going for the new ally already?" Meiling giggled.

"He looks like he doesn't have much to use against us, since, according to what you told me about him, most of his dangerous abilities were only usable inside the book, and his 'killing beam' definitely isn't killing _us_," Nick explained. "And I am seriously in _no freakin' mood_ for hearing this guy's yapping."

"Too true, buddy," Haruka laughed. "Go ahead and waste him, then."

"Don't think a simple trinket will save you from me," Ludmoore laughed.

Nick just smiled, clutching the Cyber Heartbinder tightly and causing it to glow brightly.

"Sorry, book boy, but I'm calling your bluff," Nick taunted. _"Give me strength!"_

**("Lupin Trois 2018" by Yuji Ohno and the Lupintic Six plays)**

Streams of computer code burst from the symbol on the Cyber Heartbinder and converged onto the street in front of him, forming a wall of data. Someone walked out of the data wall a few seconds later, revealing herself to be a teenage girl with wine-red hair and blue eyes, wearing a light blue-green shirt and jean shorts with a headpiece covering her right ear. Her whole body was glowing a bright red with scattered ones and zeroes due to the influence of the Heartbinder.

Ami Enan looked back at Nick and smiled before reaching up to touch the headpiece over her ear. Nick quickly ran up to join Ami as she activated the headpiece.

"_Hello, Underworld,"_ Ami proclaimed, and a circular disc platform emerged underneath Nick and Ami, with streams of data forming a circular barrier around them.

"Let's hack this hack," Nick challenged, to which Ami giggled before directing the platform towards Ludmoore.

Ludmoore fired another killing beam from his eyes, only for it to bounce off of the data barrier. Ami responded by pressing a button on her headpiece and sending a stream of data cubes forward to damage Ludmoore.

Though damaged by the attack, Ludmoore quickly recovered, leaping over them to attack from above with a sword made completely of darkness. Nick wasn't having any of that, as he raised his hands to unleash a wave of firewall data around them that interrupted Ludmoore's attack.

Nick and Ami continued their relay for a short while, using the cube wave to attack from afar, and the firewall circle to strike when Ludmoore got too close.

When they felt it was time to end this, Nick gestured to Ami, who nodded and adjusted her headpiece.

"_Underworld, generate cybernetic construct,"_ Ami proclaimed, and ten large computer windows appeared around Ludmoore, trapping him in his spot.

A smaller window appeared in front of Ami, and she looked back at Nick, who understood what had to be done. Together, Nick and Ami slammed their hands into the screen, and the windows around Ludmoore all bombarded him with clusters of data cubes and firewalls before exploding upwards into a column of computer data, flooring Ludmoore within seconds.

"_Thank you, Underworld,"_ Ami stated as all of the cybernetic constructs vanished, giving Nick one last smile before vanishing in a cloud of zeroes and ones that reformed into the Cyber Heartbinder.

Meiling glanced back and saw that, of course, Tomoyo had been recording the entire battle. "_Really_, Tomoyo?" Meiling sighed. "You're _still_ doing that?"

"Just like old times," Tomoyo giggled.

"Now are you going to take the hint and _beat it_?" Nick growled. "Or would you rather I bust out another of my Heartbinders and have _them_ wipe the floor with you?!"

Despite everything, Ludmoore just laughed as he stood up. "No, I believe I have seen everything I wish to," Ludmoore admitted. "I shall take my leave now. But, I warn you... try not to fall apart when the times comes. You'll know what I mean _very soon_, boy."

Before Nick could wring another explanation out, Ludmoore raised his hand and disappeared via corridor of darkness, but not before tossing two Clow Cards into the air.

"I'm guessing we have to find those two cards before they wreak any more havoc?" Haruka stated.

"Seems like it," Sakura replied, already summoning her Dream Wand. "Let's move, quickly!"

The group decided to split up in order to more effectively search the city for the two Clow Cards.

* * *

"Okay, I'm seriously wondering something, you guys," Irma quipped as she blasted a Nightwalker in the face with a stream of water from the nearby fountain before leaping over to swing Abyssal Tide vertically to split an Air Soldier in half.

"You're seriously asking questions in the middle of a fight, Irma?" Will retorted, raising her free hand to drop a lightning bolt onto a Sentinel, breaking apart its shield enough for her to strike with Innocent Sign.

"I'm being serious here," Irma responded. "How _exactly_ are we supposed to know who has a heart of pure light in this city? The Oracle never told us how to do that!"

"...you know, Irma's got a point," Hay Lin commented as raised Wind Maker to cast Aeroga underneath a pack of Dusks so that Taranee could flash-fry them with a powerful Firaga spell. "The Oracle never _did_ say who exactly we were looking for."

"You don't think the Dark Mother's already found the hearts she's looking for, do you?" Taranee asked as she jumped on top of a Tornado Step, riding it to attack a group of Bookmasters before bisecting it with an overhead strike from Maverick Flare.

Cornelia stood her ground and let a group of Morning Stars surround her before slamming Rockbreaker into the ground, unleashing a circle of stalagmites around her that shredded any Heartless that dared to step too close.

"I don't think so, to be honest," Cornelia answered. "If she did have the hearts she needs to forge the χ-blade, she would have done it by now, right? She wouldn't wait for us to find her just to forge it in front of us and rub it in our faces."

"Would Meter be the type to do that?" Irma asked after drowning another stubborn Nightwalker. Now she knew why Nick and Maylin hated those things so much.

Before the Guardian of Water could get an answer, a large Heartless crashed down behind her and destroyed the fountain. Irma spun around and saw that it was a Metal Troll, a giant Heartless similar to the Rock Troll that had attacked at the start of this adventure, only much more metal and shiny.

Irma quickly gathered up all the water that remained from the destroyed fountain and threw it into the Metal Troll's bulbous face, staggering it and giving the Guardians the time they needed to start attacking it.

Meanwhile, across the city at Sheffield Institute, Mallory jumped back to avoid the Catastrochorus's swinging head before casting Mental Break on it to lower its magical attack strength. After all, those magical fire breath attacks had _hurt_.

Justin leaped over to attack the Catastrochorus's tail, only to get swatted aside by it as it spun around to deter its attackers.

"I got you, Justin!" Mira gasped, raising her Starlight to cast Healing Light on Justin while Katelyn launched a barrage of Firaga spells into the Catastrochorus's face, driving it backwards.

"Are we getting anywhere with this dumb thing?!" Mallory exclaimed.

"Negatory on that, chief," Justin replied. "This stubborn beast doesn't want to die!"

As the Catastrochorus swung its tail for the group again, Katelyn slid under the attack, ending up underneath the large Heartless. Flashing a wicked grin, Katelyn began to rapid-fire Thunder spells into the Catastrochorus's belly, each spell pushing the Catastrochorus further and further into the air.

Mallory took the chance to cast Armor Break, lowering the Catastrochorus's physical defense so that Justin could wail away once the Catastrochorus landed.

And sure enough, thanks to the barrage it had been subjected to, the Catastrochorus didn't survive yet another Ars Solum from Justin (he was glad Nick had taught him that move), collapsing to the ground and disappearing.

"And _stay_ dead this time, jerkhole!" Justin growled.

"Down, Justin, it's finished," Mallory replied as the four keyblade wielders re-grouped. "We got 'em."

"Finally," Justin groaned. "That thing was _annoying_. And I've seen some of the Heartless in the Dark Corridor Trials. They were _nasty_."

"Says the guy who literally charged head-first into the Dark Corridor Trials when Master Invi was hosting them," Katelyn giggled. "And _yes_, I'm never going to stop hounding you about that."

"It wasn't my fault!" Justin exclaimed. "I legit thought I could handle it!"

"I believed in you, Justin," Mira answered.

"You believe in _everyone_, Mira," Justin teased, knowing not to get too heated around Mira, as she was still very sensitive. _Considering that time I almost took out one of those giant-ass pillars with one swing because I was so pissed at what Aced did to Nick, I guess it was justified..._

"Okay, so here's my question: was that the last of the big guys around here?" Mallory asked.

Her question was answered by yet another loud rumble from far off. Katelyn was the first to act, leapfrogging off of Mira's shoulders to get a good view, and spying the gigantic Metal Troll that W.I.T.C.H. was currently fighting.

"I guess a good hero's work is never done," Katelyn sighed. "Let's go stomp that one, too!"

Irma swiftly dodged each punch the Metal Troll sent her way, deflecting the ones she couldn't dodge with a deft swing from Abyssal Tide, before jumping over a punch and actually running up its arm towards the vulnerable face.

"This definitely feels like something Nick would do," Irma laughed as she started wailing on the Metal Troll's face...

...only for the Metal Troll to raise its other hand and literally flick Irma off, sending her crashing back to the ground in an ungainly tumble.

"You okay, Irma?!" Hay Lin shouted, raising Wind Maker to cast an Aeroga spell on Irma to keep her protected.

"Mostly," Irma responded, quickly picking herself up. "Nothing really bruised but my pride."

The Metal Troll suddenly stomped its foot down and wrenched a chunk of concrete from the road before punching the concrete with its fist, shattering it and sending its fragments flying straight towards the prone Irma.

The Water Guardian barely had time to gasp, let alone put up her keyblade to defend herself. However, a large, prismatic barrier burst to life in front of her, and the concrete fragments all shattered harmlessly against it.

"Wait, who just...?" Irma asked as she and the rest of W.I.T.C.H. turned towards whoever had assisted them.

"Katelyn, blast out its legs, then I'll go for the face!" Justin shouted.

"Done and done," Katelyn replied, shooting two consecutive Blizzaga spells at the Metal Troll's bulbous legs, dazing it and causing it to fall down to its knees and expose its face. This gave Justin the time he needed to start attacking the face with everything he had.

Meanwhile, Mallory raised her Starlight to cast Zap on the Metal Troll, which covered it in static electricity and briefly stunned it.

While Mira walked over to cast Healing Light on Irma, Justin leaped back before lunging forwards to jam Starlight into a crack on the Metal Troll's side, causing it to howl in agony.

Cornelia moved in while the Metal Troll was still recovering, raising Rockbreaker before slamming it down to the ground, causing an upheaval of stalagmites around her that shredded through the Metal Troll's armor.

This, in turn, allowed Hay Lin to cast Galera, a souped-up version of her personal Gale spell that was basically an offensive version of the Aero spell. Tendrils of wind burst from her keyblade in a straight line, eventually striking the Metal Troll and pushing it backwards upon impact.

While of all this was happening, Taranee had moved to behind the Metal Troll and begin casting Firaga spells one after another.

Finally, Will leaped off of Mallory's shoulders to throw a cluster of pink lightning bolts into the Metal Troll's face, dazing it just long enough for her to swing Innocent Sign downwards and deliver the final blow to the stubborn Heartless.

The Metal Troll attempted one more swing with its labrys, only to fall flat onto its face and evaporate into dark particles, a large heart escaping into the sky.

"And that's the end of that," Irma quipped. "So, who are our mysterious saviors?"

"Hey, aren't you Nick's 'guild' from the age of fairy tales?" Cornelia asked.

"Wait, you know them, Cornelia?" Hay Lin asked.

"They kinda saved Nick's bacon back before we got called to Candracar," Cornelia answered. "It's honestly a long story."

"Well, fable away, Corny!" Irma proclaimed.

As Cornelia regaled the rest of W.I.T.C.H. with the story of the "guild", Mira couldn't help but glance to the sky. _I wonder how Nick's doing?_ Mira thought. _I hope he's okay... after all, I have that feeling again, the feeling that something's going to happen very soon..._

* * *

"Get back here, you little..." Meiling growled, firing off a Thunder spell to incinerate a Marine Rumba that was still tailing her, while Sakura once again used the Aqua card to drown a group of Vermillion Sambas.

Their current target was hopping through the spaces between the rooftops, occasionally stopping to spawn some more Heartless to get in the group's way.

Haruka quickly dodged through a Gold Beat's charged tackle and Formchanged into Rose Whip, swinging the whip all around her to keep the Heartless at bay.

Sakura recalled Aqua, only to spot a familiar landmark approaching as the chase continued. "W-wait, is that _my house_?!" Sakura gasped.

"Oh, _hell_ no," Meiling proclaimed, Formchanging into Magic Blasters and unleashing a dual charge shot that exploded upon impact, catching their target's attention.

It turned out to be a young elf with curly, shoulder-length hair who was wearing armor over its pants and around its shoulders, ornamented in spikes. She was carrying a weapon shaped like a European rapier with a winged hilt and guard on its handle, with a gem mounted inbetween the hilt's wings.

"W-wait, is that The Storm?!" Meiling shouted. "And... oh, hell, it's wielding The Sword. _That_ combination can _not_ be _any _sort of good."

"Any strategies here, Sakura?" Nick asked. Sakura, thankfully, wasn't offended, since she knew Nick was probably from somewhere where they didn't use honorifics.

"Try to avoid The Sword, for one," Sakura answered. "It can cut through practically anything, though I don't know if it'll affect your keyblades. And be careful of The Storm, since it can wield lightning pretty well."

"So, basically be careful of the poker and find a way to clear up the storm?" Haruka repeated. "Sounds like a good strategy to me!"

"Let's mop this thing up," Nick proclaimed, switching to Shooting Star and Formchanging into Wings of Freedom.

**("Clear" by Maaya Sakamoto plays)**

The Storm was the first to act, lunging forward to charge The Sword with electricity and swing it to unleash a large wave of lightning towards Nick, who thankfully avoided it by jumping high thanks to Wings of Freedom.

While The Storm was recovering, Nick lunged back downwards and started attacking rapidly.

"Try to hit it in the center!" Sakura shouted. "That's how we beat it before, attacking it in the 'eye of the storm'!"

Nick complied, thrusting both of his arm wings to slash at The Storm's chest, while spinning around after the strike so that his back wings deflected a strike from The Sword.

While this was happening, Meiling circled around to behind The Storm and cast a powerful Waterga spell, blasting The Storm in the back with large water bubbles.

In response to this, The Storm raised The Sword and created an electrical field around itself.

"I'm guessing no touch until it goes away?" Meiling quipped.

Nick leaped back in once the electric barrier had dissipated, still striking as many times as he could with his wings, until said wings started glowing brightly, indicating he had unlocked a new Formchange.

"All right, let's see what this one can do," Nick quipped. _"Formchange: Meteor Shower!"_

All four of Nick's wings dissolved into particles of light that swirled around him like a spiraling rollercoaster before eventually forming into two sparkling gold bracelets around his wrists, each decorated with stars, and two large, six-pointed golden stars connected to the bracelets.

After ducking another swing from The Storm, Nick thrust his hands forward, and the stars on his bracelets fired off a short burst of smaller stars that struck The Storm in its chest, forcing it to back off.

"Ah, a projectile weapon? Sweet!" Nick exclaimed as he began to circle The Storm, firing stars from his bracelets rapid-fire to keep The Storm at bay. Naturally, this appeared to be the perfect weapon against this Clow Card combo, as using a long-range attack meant that Nick could avoid The Sword as well as not put himself at risk for getting fried by The Storm's electric barrier.

Even so, The Storm eventually managed to break out of Nick's long-range bombardment by swinging The Sword to cut through some of the blasts and charge straight for Nick.

Nick solved that problem by clashing both of his bracelets together, creating a barrier of multiple golden stars that stopped The Storm's attack cold. In response, Nick raised his hand and shattered the barrier much like he would a Reflect spell, the outward burst of stars damaging The Storm even further.

For the finale, Nick raised both of his hands, and the stars connected to his bracelets began to glow brightly. After a second, Nick snapped his hands downwards, and multiple large stars began to rain down from the sky onto The Storm.

"Wait, you're not dead?!" Haruka gasped. "The other Clow Card wannabes were easy to take down!"

The Storm slowly began to pick itself up, balancing itself on The Sword.

Then, Meiling slipped behind it, raising Counterpoint right for The Storm's exposed back.

"Bang," Meiling proclaimed, firing a point-blank Thunder spell into The Storm's prone back and finally finishing it off. The Storm stiffened before falling on its face, dropping The Sword which clattered to the ground. Both Clow Cards then exploded into dark mist that quickly evaporated.

"And that's how it's done," Meiling laughed once everything was calm again.

"I guess I was worried about you for nothing, huh, Meiling?" Sakura giggled, only for Meiling to leap over and hug her in response.

"No, I'm glad you were worried, Sakura," Meiling answered. "It means you never gave up on me."

"I would _never_," Sakura answered. "After all, I just have to believe that everything will surely be all right."

"And there's your invincible spell," Meiling laughed. "Classic Sakura."

Nick glanced towards Tomoyo, who of course was recording the moment for posterity, and noticed a faint blush on her cheeks when she was looking at Sakura.

_Oh, is she in love with Sakura?_ Nick thought. _That kinda sucks, since Sakura's apparently hooked up with that Syaoran kid that Meiling's related to. Honestly, I think those two would be cute together, but far be it from me to break up an established relationship. It's fun to dream, right?_

Just as Tomoyo was about to put her camera away, she looked up and saw a peculiar sight: the clouds above had parted to reveal a large, shining keyhole in the sky.

"Okay, _that's_ definitely out of place," Tomoyo quipped.

This time, however, Meiling did the honors of raising her keyblade and firing a beam of light into the keyhole to seal it up tightly. After all, it _was_ her world.

"There," Meiling stated. "Now everything's okay."

"That was some spell you just used," Sakura stated, both hands gripping her Dream Wand. "Is that... some kind of locking spell?"

"Well, sort of," Meiling admitted. "I just locked the gateway to the heart of this world. It's how the Heartless get in and steal the heart of a world, thus destroying it. But once it's been locked by a keyblade wielder, a world's heart is forever safe."

"And... I guess that means you have to go, too, from the looks on your faces?" Tomoyo asked.

"Such is our lives as keyblade wielders," Haruka answered. "And considering we're on an even bigger mission to stop the Dark Mother from forging the χ-blade."

"Is that, like, some kind of super-strong weapon?" Sakura wondered.

"It's basically the ultimate keyblade, and we can't let it be forged, or we're all done for," Meiling explained. "That hooded guy we fought earlier was one of the Dark Mother's minions, and they're trying to forge the χ-blade before we can find her."

"Which means we need to split like lickety before it's too late," Nick stated.

Sakura reached into her pocket and retrieved a small charm shaped like her guardian beast, Kero, so she could hand it off to Nick. "Meiling told me that charms and trinkets can give your keyblades new forms, so I hope this helps you in the battles to come," Sakura stated.

Nick reached out to accept the charm before attaching it to his keyblade, then swinging it horizontally, the weapon transforming in mid-swing. This new keyblade had a handle, shaft and guard resembling The Sword, teeth that resembled the bird beak of Sakura's original Sealing Wand, a hilt resembling the head of Sakura's current Dream Wand, and the keychain token that was shaped like Kero's head was connected by a keychain made up of tiny Clear Cards. The words _Key of Clow_ ran through Nick's mind as he studied the weapon.

"Good luck on your travels," Tomoyo proclaimed.

"And... please come back to visit soon?" Sakura asked.

"Don't you worry, Sakura," Meiling giggled, hugging Sakura tighter. "The _first thing_ I'm doing once this is all over is coming to your place, and we're gonna have a sleepover and catch up on everything!"

Nick couldn't help but smile at how happy Meiling was to finally be reunited with her friends.

_But... there's still one more problem we need to take care of before Meiling can have her epic sleepover of legends,_ Nick thought as he glanced at his reflection in Key of Clow, once again struck with that odd feeling that _something_ was going to happen soon.

Naturally, Nick had learned to trust his gut instinct whenever it felt like this.

* * *

"Which way, Rose?" Marie asked, drifting through a curved path through the tunnels and letting Rose's feelings guide her to the last of the Elemental Queens that needed saving.

_Up there! It's getting closer and closer!_

Marie hopped over an arch, slid under another one, then whacked an Earth Core in the face with Moonlight before finally reaching a large, open area at the top of the mountain.

"Um... I don't see a floating heart anywhere, though I can still sense it," Marie admitted. "Does that feel weird to you, Rose?"

_WATCH OUT ABOVE YOU!_

Marie glanced upwards just in time to see a large Heartless descending towards her rapidly, both of its swords raised to attack. Marie swung Moonlight to parry the attack, then jumped backwards to assess her new foe.

This Heartless was a large, muscular, humanoid figure with a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest, with raised portions and ridges on its black skin giving it an armored appearance. It had large, spiked horns on the sides of its head, and two more rising from its forehead which formed the shape of a heart, with all four horns fading from black to red to yellow, giving them the appearance of heated metal. Its tail ended in a bladed fin with a diamond-shaped hole through it, its two-toed, clawed feet stand upon swirling vortexes of white energy. It had undersized, purple bat-like wings on its shoulders and dull purple tendrils wrapped around its throat like a scarf, which draped down on either side of its "heart". It also had tendrils wrapped around each wrist, which faded to the same burning yellow color as its horns. In each hand it held a large blue sword with hook-like extensions near the tip and an exaggerated gold hilt with a knuckle bow.

And within the heart-shaped hole in the Dark Inferno's chest was another glowing heart, no doubt the heart of Amber, Elemental Queen of Fall.

"Oh, so _now_ the big boy comes out to play?" Marie quipped, spinning Moonlight in her hands. "Are you _finally_ gonna give me a challenge?"

The Dark Inferno simply rushed forward and swiped at Marie twice, followed by a cross-slash, which Marie parried easily. She leaped forward to attack the Dark Inferno, only getting one full combo set in before her next attack was blocked when the Dark Inferno crossed its sword in front of itself.

Marie quickly fell back to the ground to avoid the incoming counterattack, raising her free hand to fire a Dark Firaga into the Dark Inferno's chest, sending it stumbling back.

However, the Dark Inferno recovered quickly and started slashing wildly towards Marie, who once again raised Moonlight to block each slash.

This didn't faze the Dark Inferno, however, as it retaliated with a spinning drill attack that broke through Marie's guard and sent her flying.

Once Marie recovered, she spun Moonlight in her hands. "Okay, so we're doing it the hard way, huh? _Formchange: Crescent Staff!_" Marie shouted, Formchanging into Crescent Staff and swinging it wildly to match the Dark Inferno's own combo attack.

Before Marie could slip in an attack of her own, however, the Dark Inferno retreated to the ground and crossed its swords together.

"Oh, don't think you're getting away!" Marie shouted, moving in to strike, only to be blown back when the Dark Inferno spun around with its swords extended and unleashed a circular wave of red energy.

Marie jumped over the Dark Inferno as it tried to use the red circular wave attack again, and started attacking its vulnerable head with wild abandon until the Dark Inferno retreated to the center of the arena, where it impaled its swords into the ground and spawned a pool of darkness underneath itself.

Several black orbs with a white-ish tint formed from the dark pool and began to follow Marie in an attempt to surround her.

Marie simply raised a Dark Barrier so that all the orbs harmlessly dissipated against it, but the _instant_ she let the barrier drop, the Dark Inferno emerged from another pool of darkness right next to Marie and began to wail on her with multiple slashes and spin attacks. Eventually, the Dark Inferno performed its cross-slash attack, slamming Marie into the nearby cliff face.

The Dark Inferno closed in for the kill, only for Marie to raise Moonlight. _"HEAL!"_ Marie shouted as she cast Curaga on herself, healing off all the damage she'd just taken from the Dark Inferno so she could wrench herself out of the cliff and retaliate.

"Ah, thanks to healing magic, an ultimately fruitless attempt," Marie giggled. "But, if it's any consolation..."

The Dark Inferno swiped at Marie, only for her to vanish mid-swing and teleport behind it using Shadow Sneak, a move where she blended in with the shadows to appear right behind her opponent.

"_...that hurt like hell."_

Marie didn't give the Dark Inferno any time to react as she unleashed Chaos Blade, basically a darkness-enhanced version of her brother's Sonic Blade attack, stabbing forwards at lightning speeds about seven times before ending with an overhead chop that finally defeated the Dark Inferno.

The Dark Inferno collapsed to its knees, dropping its swords and reaching towards Marie one last time before evaporating into dark mist, the heart within its body free to roam about once again.

"Seriously, put up a _fight_ next time!" Marie proclaimed as she walked up to the newly-freed heart. "So... you okay there, Amber?"

_You know me, young warrior of darkness?_

"I've heard of you," Marie admitted. "But the other hearts sharing mine probably know you better by now."

_Wait, the other queens are with you?!_

"All sans Meter," Marie answered. "I was sent by the Oracle to find you, Freya, and Rose, because we might need your help in the battle to come."

_This can only mean... Meter is attempting to forge the χ-blade, is she not?_

"Nailed it," Marie quipped. "So... would it be okay if you took up residence in my heart until this is all over, like Freya and Rose?"

_Anything is preferable to being stuck in this darkness-induced hell for so long. There were times I could feel the darkness creeping up on me..._

Marie spread her arms out wide, and Amber's heart floated down and absorbed itself into Marie's body to commune with the hearts of Freya and Rose.

"Well, you're safe with me," Marie giggled. "I'm the _good_ darkness."

_Yes, I can sense your conviction and determination. Let us escape this wretched place._

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Marie exclaimed, re-summoning Moonlight and backpedaling, re-tracing her steps to return to the open portal she'd entered the realm of darkness from.

Finally, her mission was complete.

And now that she'd gathered all three wayward hearts, Marie had a feeling that she and her friends and family would be crossing blades with Meter very soon.

"I hope big brother and his friends were able to keep anymore hearts out of Meter's hands," Marie asked nobody in particular. "Because I've got a really bad feeling..."

* * *

Elyon Portrait, Queen of Meridian, glanced out the window of her bedroom in Meridian Castle, smiling at the beautiful morning sky that now permeated the kingdom.

"It's because of heroes like the Guardians that we still have this peace," Elyon proclaimed. "After everything this world's been through, we've earned it."

Elyon slowly walked to her dresser and retrieved her keyblade, Diamond Dust, and raised it to face the intruder. "So don't go thinking you're going to disturb that peace again, _brother_," Elyon stated.

"Oh, but where would the fun be in that?" Phobos laughed as he drew his katana in response. "Besides, I'm here for something much more entertaining."

"And what, pray tell, would _that_ be?" Elyon responded, already channeling light magic into her keyblade.

Instead of gloating as he usually did, Phobos simply shrouded his katana with dark energy, and, faster than Elyon could react, actually stabbed Elyon in the chest with the long blade.

Despite not really feeling any pain, Elyon was more concerned with the dark energy that was slowly covering her body. "P-Phobos... what are you..." Elyon gasped.

"Call it an insurance plan," Phobos laughed. "To give us more time just in case your wretched do-gooders catch on to our plans."

Phobos extracted his katana from Elyon's chest, and even though the wound closed up and healed instantly due to the dark energy, Elyon still fell to her knees as the darkness coursed through her body.

"You... you _won't_... get away with this..." Elyon gasped as her vision began to go dark.

"Oh, my dear sister," Phobos proclaimed. "We already have."

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Keyblade get!_

**Key of Clow  
**_Base Strength: _**11  
**_Base Magic: _**17  
**_Ability: _**Wizard's Ruse **(Potentially recover HP proportionate to the MP you expend. Stack the ability to increase the effect.)  
_Formchange: _**Clear Card** (Transform your keyblade into a Sealing Wand to imbue your attacks with elemental attributes based on Sakura's Clear Cards.)  
_Description: _A keyblade with an emphasis on magic, representing Meiling's home world and the mistress of the Clow Cards that protects it.

* * *

_Link get!_

**Ami Enan, the Underworld Hacker  
**_MP Required: _**100  
**_Description:_ A link focusing on defense breaking, Ami allows you to call upon cyberspace elements to take control of the battle.  
_Anime of Origin: _**Lupin the 3****rd**** Part V (2018)  
****Commands:  
**_Data Stream:_ Hold R2 to enter a targeting mode, and press X to fire streams of data to the locked-on target.  
_Cluster Code: _Press X at a standstill to surround yourself with a circular wave of data that damages all enemies caught in it.  
_Burst Pulse:_ Press X while moving to fire a batch of digital cubes straight forwards.  
_Firewall: _Press and hold [] to defend against attacks from all angles. Press X when an attack hits the barrier to damage all nearby enemies.  
_Hello, Underworld: _[FINISHER] Press /\ to surround the nearest enemy with a large column of computer data that pierces defenses. Your Magic stat determines damage.  
**Abilities:  
**_Electric Protection:_ Prevents the electrified status.  
_Stun Protection:_ Prevents the stun status.  
_Master Treasure Magnet: _Automatically draw in and collect nearby prizes, no matter how far away they are.  
_Leaf Bracer:_ Always finish casting recovery magic, even if you are hit by attacks in the process.  
_Lucky Strike:_ Increase how often enemies drop items. Stack the ability to increase the effect.

* * *

_Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III..._

Nick: Okay, where are we off to next?

Meiling: Um, I think we need to hightail it to Metamoor.

Haruka: Why there?

Meiling: I think something's seriously wrong with Queen Elyon!

Haruka: Oh, crap, did Phobos get to her somehow?!

Marie: Hey, big bro, I'm back!

Nick: And just in time, too. Well, well, Meter, we meet at last.

Meter: Oh, I've heard so much about you, boy.

Nick: It looks like it's time to finally throw down with the Dark Mother on the next episode of _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "Contingency Plans"!

Nick, Meiling, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	8. Contingency Plans

"Okay, so, I've got a bit of a question," Meiling asked as the Gummi Ship soared through Starlight Way. "Where do we go next? I didn't see any new worlds on the radar..."

"Maybe it's time to check up on some of the other places we've been to," Haruka answered. "You know, just to see if there's been any headway on finding the hearts the Dark Mother needs."

"Yeah, she's already got at least three dark hearts, as far as we know," Nick quipped, taking the weapons controls to shoot down a Sandcrawler, a large worm-like Heartless that was slithering across a nearby cliff and firing lasers at the Gummi Ship. "We have no clue if she's got any more hearts."

"Then let's hightail it!" Meiling proclaimed.

Just as the Gummi Ship turned to make its way back to the World of Remnant, Nick felt a strange pulse from somewhere far off.

"What's up, fearless leader?" Meiling asked.

Nick stood up and ran over to the map screen, which showed the five different worlds that were currently in Starlight Way: World of Remnant, Clover Kingdom, Mihoshi Town, Heatherfield, and Candracar.

Now, the structure that represented Heatherfield now contained what seemed to be the Metamoor Palace.

And it was currently shrouded in darkness.

"Wait, is that Metamoor?!" Meiling shouted.

"Yeah, that doesn't look _any _sort of good," Haruka admitted.

"We'd better get there as fast as we can," Nick responded. "I just thought about the possibility of Meter having some kind of backup plan in case we scuttle any of her attempts to forge the χ-blade. And what have we been doing lately?"

"No damn kidding!" Meiling shouted. "Let's move, move, _move_!"

"All over it," Haruka proclaimed, taking the controls to pilot the Gummi Ship towards Heatherfield.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The trinity heads back to Heatherfield to check in with W.I.T.C.H., but they have to immediately hightail it to Metamoor to save Elyon from being corrupted by darkness thanks to Phobos and the final member of the Seekers of Darkness. Then, it's off to the Keyblade Graveyard to finally confront the Dark Mother Meter. What sinister schemes does she have up her sleeve, and can W.I.T.C.H. stop the χ-blade from being forged?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 8: Contingency Plans

"Did Nick really get his butt kicked by a Foreteller?" Irma gasped as the "guild" continued to recall the stories about their adventures in the age of fairy tales.

"Well, Aced _was_ the physically strongest of the Foretellers," Justin replied, twirling Starlight in his hands while forcing himself to calm down, as the memory of that defeat still stung him. "Nick really didn't stand a chance."

"In a bit of reverse moment, Justin actually had to restrain _me_ from going after Aced and stomping his head in myself," Katelyn giggled.

"The Foretellers were in a completely different league from us," Mira stated. "Even Master Invi was a supreme spellcaster..."

"I would have loved to see her in action, honestly," Hay Lin admitted. "As good as _we_ are at this magic thing, the Foretellers sound like they were the best of the best."

Mallory would have replied if she hadn't noticed three figures approaching them relatively fast.

After a quick glance forward, Mallory smiled brightly when she saw the trinity running towards them.

"Nick! Long time no see!" Mallory exclaimed as everyone rushed forward to join up.

"It hasn't been _that_ long, Mal," Nick quipped.

"How goes the heart hunt, everyone?" Meiling asked.

"We haven't found any wayward hearts here," Will answered, balancing Innocent Sign on her shoulder. "We've mostly passed the time by bashing some stubborn Heartless in."

"And now we see what you guys have been through in the past three years," Irma teased. "Some of these things just _refuse _to die!"

"Now you know our pain," Haruka responded.

"BIG BROTHER!"

Nick only had time to turn around before Marie lunged forward and hugged Nick so fast that the two of them were both knocked straight to the ground.

"M-Marie?!" Nick gasped, immediately sitting up to return his sister's embrace. "Where the heck have you _been_?!"

"On a secret mission," Marie giggled. "Well, it's not really so secret now that it's done, so... I was traveling the realm of darkness for a while."

"Wait, you were in the _realm of darkness_?!" Meiling shouted. "What the heck were you doing in _that_ twisted disco inferno?!"

"I was searching for some hearts who I'm currently housing with my own heart," Marie answered. "The Oracle tasked me with finding the wayward hearts of the other Elemental Queens. They'd been banished to the darkness long ago when Meter became the Dark Mother, and the Oracle believes they'll be helpful when the time comes to take on Meter."

"That's gotta be weird, having three other hearts sharing your own heart," Taranee wondered.

"They're mostly just chatting, catching up on what they've missed," Marie answered.

"Which brings us to the question I think we should have asked earlier," Cornelia asked. "What brings you all back, Nick? Is your adventure finished?"

Nick sighed before summoning Key of Clow to his hands. "If only, Cornelia," Nick answered. "I've got a feeling there's big trouble on Metamoor."

"Hold on, trouble of what kind?" Irma asked.

Suddenly, Cornelia gasped out loud as it clicked what could possibly be wrong. "Do you think Elyon's being attacked by something?" Cornelia exclaimed.

"If it has to do with Phobos, I'm pretty sure of it," Meiling replied, to which all of W.I.T.C.H. reacted appropriately, with _very_ shocked expressions.

"_Phobos is back?! _Please tell me you're joking," Will gasped.

"Yeah, didn't Will _disintegrate_ his damn _soul_?!" Irma exclaimed.

"Once again, I wish I could," Haruka responded. "Meter apparently had some limited time-travel powers like that future Lily did, and she gathered a bunch of our old foes from across time and space to form what we're calling The Seekers of Darkness."

"They've been harassing us on every single world we've been to so far," Meiling continued. "And they all keep blabbing that everything's going according to their plan _despite_ the fact that we've been kicking their asses up and down the worlds."

"Sounds like you've all been busy," Marie giggled. "And on that note, we should probably hightail it to Metamoor and help Elyon out before Phobos does anything bad."

"Roger that," Will proclaimed, reaching into her pocket to retrieve the Heart of Candracar and use it to open a portal in the Veil. "Let's go, everybody! _Guardians, unite!_"

"We'll hold down the fort while you guys are doing that," Katelyn proclaimed as the five Guardians transformed. "We'll hook up with you again when it's time to confront the Dark Mother, so don't keep us waiting, got it?"

"We'll definitely keep you posted," Nick quipped as the Guardians and the trinity crossed through the portal.

Thankfully, Will had linked the portal directly into Elyon's throne room, just to save time on travel.

However, this revealed a rather strange sight when the group arrived in the throne room. Elyon was there, down on her knees, and trembling violently, almost as if she had fallen into a freezing lake.

"Um, Your Majesty?" Irma asked. "Is everything okay?"

Elyon slowly lifted her head, and Nick immediately knew something was wrong, as Elyon's eyes were now an evil-looking shade of yellow, and spikes were sprouting from the Crown of Light.

"Oh... I've never been better," Elyon giggled, though it was a low, sinister giggle that put everyone on edge. "In fact, I'm positively _exhilarated!_"

Elyon sprang to her feet and summoned Diamond Dust to her hands, but the keyblade had changed, the blues being darker and duller, and the snowflake teeth had become a six-pointed crystal of black ice.

"E-Elyon?!" Cornelia gasped. "What _happened _to you?!"

"Quite simple, really," Anti-Elyon laughed, rushing forward to attack Cornelia, who quickly summoned Rockbreaker to defend herself. "My brother just opened my heart to the wonderful power of darkness, and allowed me to access untold strength that I've never known before!"

"I _knew_ Phobos had a hand in this!" Meiling growled, summoning Counterpoint to her hands. "Ooh, just wait until I get my hands on him..."

Cornelia continued to swing Rockbreaker in time with Anti-Elyon's swings, easily countering her best friend's merciless attacks.

"Elyon, snap out of it!" Nick shouted, firing a Thunder spell that Anti-Elyon simply tanked so that she could rush forward to attack Nick.

"You'll have to make me!" Anti-Elyon shot back, swinging Diamond Dust overhead with enough force and momentum to shatter concrete.

Nick readied Key of Clow to defend himself...

...only for Cornelia to plant herself in front of Nick and swing Rockbreaker to deflect Anti-Elyon's strike, kicking up a cloud of dust around them.

"I've got this one, Nick," Cornelia proclaimed.

"Are you sure, Cornelia?" Nick asked.

Cornelia shoved Rockbreaker forwards to push Anti-Elyon away so she could bring her keyblade into a fighting stance.

"You've taken the spotlight far too many times, in my opinion," Cornelia giggled. "And I can't have my boyfriend doing all the work for me."

Cornelia readied herself as Anti-Elyon sized her opponent up.

"It's time I took the spotlight for once."

Anti-Elyon let out a battle cry and charged for Cornelia, leaping over her to fire six orbs of darkness in a wavy pattern. Cornelia deftly dodged through each orb before moving in to strike.

Cornelia landed three slashes before Anti-Elyon pushed her away with a short-range dark pulse, then attacking with four teleporting slashes from multiple angles.

Cornelia retaliated by spinning Rockbreaker and tapping the ground to sprout a wall of rock behind her that stopped Anti-Elyon's next attack cold.

"Don't think you intimidate me!" Anti-Elyon shouted, warping into the air before firing a large ice crystal downwards that exploded into shards of razor-sharp ice that surrounded Cornelia.

The Earth Guardian crouched low before spinning Rockbreaker above her, creating a domed shield of rock around her body. The ice shards all attacked Cornelia, only to shatter harmlessly against the rock dome.

As Anti-Elyon fell back down to the ground, Cornelia slashed Rockbreaker through the dome and caused it to break apart into a short-range shockwave of rocks that damaged Anti-Elyon.

"Oh, that's _it_," Anti-Elyon growled, spinning around like a ballet dancer and creating eight doppelgangers of herself, each one firing off a surge of dark orbs.

Nick decided that was the moment he needed to step in, dashing in front of Cornelia and casting Reflega to dissipate the entire barrage of orbs.

"I know you said this was your fight, but..." Nick quipped. "Wanna kick some ass together?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Cornelia giggled, and after leaning over to kiss Nick on the cheek, the two keyblade wielders stood back-to-back as Anti-Elyon and her doppelgangers all charged at once.

Nick and Cornelia alternated swings to dissipate the doppelgangers, and when they were all gone, Nick cast Waterga to blast Anti-Elyon with large water bubbles. This gave Cornelia the opportunity to lunge forward with a powerful stab attack as Anti-Elyon fell down.

Nick flipped over Cornelia to launch Anti-Elyon into the air with a Magic Flash before switching to Starlight and Formchanging into Second Form S.

"Sorry, Your Majesty, but this may sting a little!" Nick exclaimed as he swung Starlight upwards and unleashed an Ancient Light that enveloped Anti-Elyon and sent her flying backwards.

Cornelia spun Rockbreaker in her hands, its blade glowing brightly. "Mind if I take a page from your book, Nick?" Cornelia asked.

"Be my guest, my lovely," Nick quipped.

Cornelia raised Rockbreaker high above her head. _"Formchange: Shatter Fists!"_

Rockbreaker dissolved into particles of bronze-colored light that swirled around Cornelia's hands and formed into two gigantic fists made of stone and rock.

Anti-Elyon recovered from the previous attack and rushed forward, flying through the air with a spinning slash, but Cornelia clashed her Shatter Fists together, creating a small quake that knocked Anti-Elyon backwards.

Cornelia didn't waste her chance, moving in and attacking with slow but super-strong overhead slams that rumbled the ground with each punch.

While Cornelia was doing this, Nick jumped to behind Anti-Elyon and switched to Team Formation, Formchanging into Sinister Scythe and attacking from behind, not giving Anti-Elyon any time to react.

For the finisher, Cornelia slammed both of her Shatter Fists into the ground, and they exploded, the fragments of rock raining down onto Anti-Elyon from above. Nick made sure to move to a safe distance when Cornelia unleashed her finisher.

When the barrage ended, Anti-Elyon had stiffened in her spot, a glowing keyhole appearing on her chest where Phobos had attacked her. Cornelia quickly raised Rockbreaker once it had reformed in her hand and fired a beam of light into the keyhole, causing Anti-Elyon to fall to her knees and return to her normal self.

"Did we get her back?" Irma asked.

Elyon groaned slightly, shaking her head to clear away the pounding headache she'd been having for the past few minutes. "Ugh... what just happened?" Elyon gasped. "And why do I have what feels like the mother of all headaches?"

"Yep, we got her," Hay Lin giggled.

"Oh, thank goodness," Cornelia gasped, running over to hug Elyon.

"Cornelia? I didn't know you were here," Elyon quipped. "Wait... what exactly did Phobos do to me?!"

"He infected you with the power of darkness and turned you against us," Nick explained. "He and the other Seekers are probably trying to stall for time."

"Maybe you should go check in with the Oracle and see if he know where the Dark Mother's hiding," Elyon replied. "You might not have much time left."

"And that's exactly what we're afraid of," Meiling sighed. "Come on, all y'all, let's talk to the big man!"

"I'll provide the transportation," Elyon proclaimed, tapping the jewel on the Crown of Light and using it to open a shimmering portal to Candracar.

Nick was the first to step through the portal, only to see something that probably didn't belong in a place like Candracar.

Himerish was standing upright, his keyblade, Master Keeper, clutched in his hands. He was staring down yet another mysterious figure in a black cloak carrying a very familiar keyblade.

"Um, okay, that's _definitely _not normal!" Hay Lin exclaimed.

"Who _is _that?" Will asked.

"And why do these Seekers keep popping up _everywhere we freakin' go?!_" Meiling shouted, summoning Counterpoint. "Seriously, it's getting _way_ out of hand!"

Nick, however, was more concerned with the identity of their newest opponent.

"Should I _even_ be surprised that _you're_ with them, too?" Nick groaned, switching his keyblade to Key of Clow.

The figure turned around and dropped her hood to reveal The Omen, a dark doppelganger of Marie who was apparently from the other-dimensional Lily's future. Her keyblade, Void Gear, sparked with dark energy as she lifted it.

"Do I detect a bit of _wistfulness_ in your voice?" The Omen teased. "By any chance, did you _miss me_?"

Nick instantly raised his keyblade to attack. "Oh, I'm not having _any_ of this," Nick growled.

"Call this a contingency plan," The Omen laughed, raising Void Gear. "Just in case."

The Omen charged forward, only to be blasted back by a Dark Firaga to the chest courtesy of Marie.

"Oh, I've got some retribution to smack you down with, too," Marie proclaimed. "Come on, big bro, let's mess her up together."

"Now you're talkin' my language, sis!" Nick exclaimed as the two siblings readied their keyblades for battle.

Marie rushed in first, only to have each strike countered by a swing from Void Gear. Nick leaped backwards to fire off a Thunder spell while The Omen was distracted, but The Omen sliced through the blast and made her way closer to Nick.

"Now, show me your anguish!" The Omen shouted, raising Void Gear and charging up, the demonic keyblade surrounded by dark energy.

Nick readied himself, but The Omen was surprisingly fast, lunging straight for Nick with a horizontal slash from Void Gear, a spiral of darkness surrounding her as she lunged. Nick rolled to the side to avoid the lunge, but The Omen continued by leaping into the air and slashing diagonally, creating a cross-shaped wave of dark energy across the ground at the point of impact, forcing Nick to quickly dodge to the left even as The Omen lunged again.

After all of this, the Omen leaped backwards, swinging Void Gear twice and creating an X-shaped blast that rocketed towards Nick. Marie moved in to project a Dark Barrier that dissipated the blast, then retaliated with a Dark Volley, buffeting The Omen with a barrage of dark energy bullets.

"Get with it!" Marie shouted, lunging forward to swing Moonlight overhead, only for The Omen to vanish before the impact.

The Omen reappeared right behind Marie, aiming Void Gear for her neck. Nick stopped the attack by blasting The Omen from afar with a Thunder spell, giving Marie ample time to launch into a Dark Break, leaping high into the air and coming down on The Omen's head multiple times like a pogo stick.

Marie eventually chopped downward to finish the attack, but The Omen leaped away from Nick, though stayed in the air mid-leap, Void Gear pulsing ominously.

"Darkness awaits you!" The Omen shouted, lunging towards Nick while surrounded by a black-and-white aura. The attack came so quickly that Nick didn't have time to defend himself and was thrown back even as The Omen turned around to repeat the attack at least three more times.

Nick stumbled for a second even as Marie rushed over to cast Curaga on him.

"Thanks, sis," Nick quipped.

"Anytime, big bro!" Marie laughed.

"Could you _maybe_ focus on me for a few seconds?" The Omen taunted as she raised Void Gear, then began to dash around Nick, creating a circle of dark crystal spikes around him as she did so. Nick counted to three in his head, then leaped just as the crystal spikes all converged on where he had been a second ago.

Nick and Marie nodded to each other, then raised their keyblades.

"Well, _if you want,_" Nick and Marie proclaimed together.

"_Formchange: Crescent Staff!"_

"_Formchange: Clear Card!"_

Key of Clow glowed brightly before reforming into a long staff resembling Sakura's Dream Wand.

Nick was the first to go on the offensive, swinging the staff in long, spiraling strikes before finishing by snapping it downwards, summoning an image of one of Sakura's Clear Cards, Blaze, before unleashing a spiral of fire energy around him.

Marie continued the combo by wailing on The Omen with wide spinning strikes from her own staff, eventually jumping back and raising her staff, channeling its power to create a projection of the moon above her. Marie took a few steps forward, spinning her staff around her and causing the moon to whirl around her body, ravaging The Omen with each hit, before leaping into the air and coming down with an overhead swing that thrust the moon into the ground and caused it to explode outwards, sending The Omen flying backwards.

Nick, meanwhile, was having fun with his new Formchange, using many of the elemental powers associated with Sakura's Clear Cards in conjunction with his physical combo, including Gale, a powerful forward barrage of air blades, Aqua, a large bubble dropping from above, Gravitation, pulling The Omen to her knees with what was essentially Nick's old Gravity spell, Hail, a localized storm of ice crystals, and even Shade, a slow but powerful burst of dark energy.

The Omen simply huffed in response, despite her damage, before encasing herself in a cocoon of darkness and sending out multiple shadowy afterimages of herself to slash at Nick one by one. Nick used Reflect (the card, not the spell) to protect himself from each afterimage. When the attack was spent, Marie moved in to attack.

"Now you'll see _true _darkness!" Marie proclaimed before floating into the air and charging towards The Omen, vanishing before impact. Marie then reappeared to rush forward and slash The Omen with Moonlight. Marie repeated this dash-and-slash tactic about eight times before reappearing above The Omen.

"Welcome oblivion!" Marie shouted over-dramatically (with a small giggle on the side) before falling down to plant Moonlight into the ground, causing dozens of dark geysers to erupt around the point on impact.

While The Omen was stumbling, Nick moved in for the kill, spinning the Dream Wand high above him and positioning all the Clear Cards he'd used around an intricate magic circle. Nick directed the circle to constrict The Omen before it exploded outwards in a shockwave of light, throwing The Omen into one of the nearby pillars.

"Now are you and your posse going to give it up?!" Nick growled. "Because contingency plans or not, we're coming for the Dark Mother next!"

The Omen picked herself up and laughed softly to herself. "You really believe that?" The Omen proclaimed. "Very well. If you still think you can challenge the Dark Mother, then come and find us at the Keyblade Graveyard. We'll all be waiting for you, so don't you dare keep us waiting, got it? After all, the real fun hasn't even started yet."

Her explanation spent, The Omen summoned a corridor of darkness and walked through it.

Meiling looked rather pensive as she watched The Omen leave. "The _Keyblade Graveyard_?" Meiling quipped. "Ooh, I'd hoped to never see _that_ place again."

"If she intends to forge the χ-blade, she would most likely do it there," Himerish proclaimed. "It would seem like the final battle is close at hand, my Guardians. You must be careful when confronting Meter, as she is extremely powerful, no doubt aided by her transformation and banishment."

"That's why we're gonna try and overwhelm her with numbers before she can do anything with whatever hearts she's collected," Haruka quipped. "Guess we're all headed off to the Keyblade Graveyard."

"Can we stop back in Heatherfield quick?" Nick asked. "I did promise my 'guild' that I'd come back for them when the time came to go fight Meter."

"If there is anything you wish to do before the final battle, now is the time, my Guardians," Himerish proclaimed. "Take care of whatever you need to, so you will be ready to face the Dark Mother without regrets."

While the Guardians discussed what to do, Nick occasionally glanced towards Cornelia, allowing a slight blush to cover his face as he thought of his girlfriend.

That is, until his _other_ girlfriend interrupted.

"Oh, you staring at your girlfriend?" Meiling giggled.

"Meiling, are we _really_ doing this again?" Nick sighed.

"Hey, it's still fun to tease you, even if I'm just being a goof," Meiling answered. "What'cha thinkin' about?"

Nick gestured to something in his pants pocket, and Meiling crouched down to see what it was that Nick was trying to keep secret. When she got a good look at it, she gasped in shock, though softly, as she immediately knew what Nick was planning.

"You... you're going to propose to her?" Meiling whispered.

"When this is all over," Nick replied. "I've been kinda sussing this plan out for about a year, and I figured that once we're done with Meter, I'm going to ask Cornelia to marry me. Listen, Meiling, you _absolutely cannot_ blab about this to anyone, got it?"

"Nick," Meiling stated before leaning over to kiss Nick on the cheek. "You know I may tease you about your love life sometimes, but it's only because I love you. And I will _definitely_ keep this one secret until you're ready. That's a promise, and I learned the importance of keeping promises from you."

"Thanks, Meiling," Nick replied, reaching over to give Meiling a big hug.

"Anytime, buddy," Meiling giggled, kissing Nick on the lips before letting him go and summoning her keyblade. "Now let's go beat Meter's ass so you can get hitched."

"You said it," Nick laughed as Himerish opened a portal back to Heatherfield so Nick could retrieve his guild, and another portal to the Keyblade Graveyard so the entire team could approach the final battle.

"Good luck, my Guardians," Himerish proclaimed. "I know you will not let me down."

* * *

Lillian Hale, despite playing with the dolls that Cornelia had made for her, suddenly shivered as if she was cold, despite the balmy summer temperatures.

"Lillian, dearie, is everything okay?" Elizabeth Hale asked her daughter upon noticing her shivering.

"I-I'm okay, mom," Lillian answered, though inwardly, she doubted her own words.

What _was_ that feeling?

* * *

"Oof, it looks just as derelict as ever," Meiling noted as the troop crossed through the large, shimmering blue portal to arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard, formerly the prosperous city of Daybreak Town in the age of fairy tales, before the Keyblade War happened and left the sprawling city a barren ruin, marked by millions upon millions of dead keyblades left as grave markers for all the fallen wielders.

Mira could only glance around in full shock at the sight of the wasteland that had once been their home. "Oh, _god..._" Mira gasped.

"It's okay, Mira," Justin stated, patting Mira's shoulder. "Someday, we'll rebuild this place. Who knows, maybe Daybreak Town will thrive again."

"Stay on your guard, everyone," Will proclaimed. "I can sense danger all around us."

"I'm kinda surprised that the Heartless haven't jumped us yet," Marie quipped. "Because that usually happens not too long after we arrive on a world."

"Probably because there's just _no one here_," Haruka answered. "The Heartless only go after people's hearts, and we're the only ones here."

"Hey, I never thought about it like that..." Taranee quipped.

Nick looked upwards and saw a figure approaching them from far away, obscured by the dust storm in the distance.

"Get ready, everyone," Nick proclaimed, putting the entire group on edge. "Something wicked this way comes."

Everyone summoned their keyblades in response as the obscured figure came closer and closer.

Eventually, the dust storms dissipated to reveal a slim and willowy woman with pale skin and brown hair resembling tree bark, slanted yellow eyes, and wearing a revealing violet dress. Seven figures wearing the Organization's black cloak were following behind her in a triangle formation.

Nick clutched the handle of Star Cluster tightly, preparing for whatever chaos was about to unfold.

The Dark Mother Meter stopped just short of the group of keyblade wielders, and the Seekers of Darkness stopped about two steps behind her.

Meter raised her hand and buffeted Nick with a wave of force that caused him to lose Star Cluster, the keyblade disappearing from his hands and flashing into Meter's hands.

Nick quickly switched to Starlight, ready to fight if need be.

Meter relaxed her stance, Star Cluster hanging by her right hip.

"Legend has it that darkness once covered the world," Meter proclaimed. "In the age of fairy tales, people believed that light was a precious gift, hailing from an unseen land known only as Kingdom Hearts, which was protected by its counterpart, the χ-blade. Many people vied for that precious light, and so let darkness into their hearts, deluded into believing they held ownership of the light."

Meiling couldn't help but wonder what exactly had turned Meter down the path of darkness, though she had a theory that it had something to do with the story she was telling.

"And so, warriors forged special weapons called keyblades, in the image of the original χ-blade, and began to fight," Meter continued. "Some fought to defend the light from the darkness, and others fought to hoard the light for themselves. Thus began what is known as the 'Keyblade War'. No one knows how long it lasted or how it ended, but the violent clash eventually shattered the χ-blade into twenty pieces. Seven of light, thirteen of darkness. And the one true Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again."

Marie could feel the chatter in her own heart, most likely from the other Elemental Queens' hearts, wondering what to do in the face of their former friend.

"As the story goes, the hearts of children, pure and untainted by darkness, were able to rebuild what was left of the world after the Keyblade War," Meter stated. "This light took the form of the worlds we know now, and possibly countless others that have yet to be discovered."

Nick just stared on, wondering when Meter was going to stop prattling.

"We know so very little about the Keyblade War," Meter proclaimed. "Only that it was just the beginning of a grander tale to be told. After all, amidst the darkness of the war, a precious light was found. If ruin brings about creation, what, then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be considered worthy of the precious light that the legends tells of so fondly?"

Phobos lowered his hood to speak. "Or will all of creation instead be returned to the darkness of old?" Phobos stated.

"Today, we shall recreate that legend and see," Nerissa cackled.

"But first, we have to get rid of a little problem... _you_," Cedric proclaimed.

"After all, your light shines _far_ too brightly," Ludmoore stated.

"That light must be extinguished in order to find the truth we seek," Mariko proclaimed.

"Only when your hopes and aspirations have been broken by battle upon battle can the key to Kingdom Hearts finally be claimed," Lily stated.

"And make no mistake, we _shall _break you," The Omen laughed. "It has already been etched."

In response, Nick just laughed. "So, basically, you're saying it's destiny for us to fail?" Nick shot back. "Don't make me laugh. We've only gotten this far by having the strength to say '_screw destiny_' and forging our own path!"

All of the keyblade wielders raised their weapons for battle.

Meter raised her hand, and three black hearts appeared above her. The hearts of Adam Taurus, Solid Silva, and Yamada, hearts completely stained by darkness.

"You only have _three_ hearts?" Irma laughed. "Looks like you're not forging that dam X-Blade or whatever anytime soon, old maid!"

Meter responded with a sinister grin that actually unnerved Irma before turning around to face her Seekers of Darkness.

"Child... you presume too much."

Meter snapped her fingers, and a massive pulse wave blasted Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, and Mira backwards into a large dark corridor that closed almost instantly.

But Meter wasn't done, snapping her fingers again and causing seven dark roots to pop up from the ground around her, covered with razor-sharp thorns and glowing with dark energy.

To the group's bewilderment, the roots didn't attack them, instead opting to impale all seven members of the Seekers of Darkness.

"Wait, what the heck just happened?!" Meiling shouted. "Did she really just betray her own squad?!"

"Betray?" Phobos gasped. "No. We offered ourselves to her."

"We knew this was what would become of us," Lily coughed. "But if it helps Meter's vision come to pass, then... so be it."

The seven Seekers all accepted their deaths, their bodies evaporating into particles of light and darkness, leaving behind only their hearts.

Hearts that were completely black.

"Now I have ten," Meter laughed as the seven Seekers' hearts floated over to join the three she'd already collected. "It will not be much longer."

Meter's eyes traveled to Marie. "Ah, I see you have brought our guests with you," Meter laughed. "As expected of you."

Marie quickly cast Dark Barrier to protect herself, but Meter simply swung Star Cluster to unleash dozens of dark lightning bolts that easily destroyed the barrier and ravaged Marie's body, causing her to scream in agony.

"Let my sister go, you _bitch_!" Nick shouted, charging forward only to be knocked away with a flick of Meter's free hand.

"Be patient, boy," Meter proclaimed.

Once the lightning bolts were finished, Marie slumped to her knees, her keyblade falling out of her hand, clattering to the ground and vanishing.

Marie clutched at the spot where she'd been struck as her body began to dissolve. She futilely reached for Nick before vanishing completely, leaving behind only three more dark hearts.

"MARIE!" Nick screamed.

"H-Hold on, why were their hearts _dark_ hearts?!" Haruka shouted.

"Why do you think I banished them to the realm of darkness so long ago?" Meter stated as those three hearts joined the others, forming a circle of thirteen dark hearts. "I knew their time in the realm of darkness would stain their hearts with darkness, even if they were strong enough to retain their sense of self. A perfect addition to my collection."

"Don't think this means you've won, Meter," Will proclaimed as she and the rest of W.I.T.C.H. transformed, unaware of the dark roots sprouting behind them.

Meter just raised Star Cluster above her. "Oh, but I have already won."

Before Will could ask what she meant, the roots made their move and impaled all five members of W.I.T.C.H. from behind, dissolving their bodies almost instantaneously and leaving behind nothing but five brightly glowing hearts.

Nick whipped his head back and forth, trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening. _This wasn't supposed to happen, this WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN,_ was the only thought running through Nick's mind.

"All right, _now you've done it,_" Meiling growled, Formchanging into Magic Blasters. "_No one_ murders our friends and gets away with it."

"You're going to pay for _everything _you've done, Meter," Haruka proclaimed, Formchanging into Rose Whip. "This ends right here and now!"

"On that, I will agree," Meter laughed. "This ends. _Now._"

Meter lunged forward so fast that she may as well have been a mirage, slashing Star Cluster across Meiling's body, then dashing over to slash it across Haruka's body.

Neither of them had seen Meter moving towards them.

Haruka was the first to fall, collapsing to her knees but still retaining enough strength to glance at Nick with a look that clearly said "It's not your fault" before disappearing and leaving her heart behind.

Meiling tried her hardest to keep herself on her feet, stumbling over to Nick and falling into his arms. She only had the strength to lean up and kiss Nick before vanishing, her heart remaining.

Meiling and Haruka's hearts floated over to the five hearts left by W.I.T.C.H., which floated to join the thirteen dark hearts.

Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. In mere moments, Meter had decimated everyone that had come with him. All of his friends were gone. Just like that.

Nick was pretty sure he felt his own heart figuratively shatter when the truth finally sunk in, and he fell to his own knees in utter defeat.

"At long last, it is time for the final union," Meter proclaimed, all twenty hearts spiraling around her. "Seven hearts of light. Thirteen hearts of darkness. Long have I waited. Long have I planned. But now, here, on the fated battleground, the legend will finally reach its conclusion! I call upon you now. Come together into my hands, forge the ultimate key, and show me the World to come!"

The twenty hearts began to encircle Star Cluster before absorbing into it and transforming it into a much large weapon.

The χ-blade itself.

The χ-blade appeared to be made up of two crossing Kingdom Keys, with the teeth facing outward, with a filigree that resembled the one from Nick's first Ultima Weapon, and a long, glimmering blade extending from the middle slightly resembling the Dream Sword. Two keychains fell from each Kingdom Key before joining into one larger keychain, and the keyblade token was a black and red heart similar to the Heartless symbol, only without the fleur-de-lis bottom and jagged cross, with two Kingdom Keys crossed over it.

"Perfection," Meter proclaimed, staring in awe at the χ-blade, the weapon she'd waited so long to forge.

She glanced over at Nick, who was still on his knees, utter despair highlighting his expression.

"So you accept that you have lost," Meter stated. "How admirable of you."

"Just... get it over with," Nick whispered, his voice hollow.

"Hmmm... I did not think you would concede so easily," Meter laughed. "I figured you would have at least a _little_ more fight in you, considering how far you have come. But if you miss your precious _friends_ so much..."

Meter teleported in front of Nick, holding him up by the neck, the broken keyblade wielder not even bothering to fight back.

"...then I will grant you that mercy and send you to them."

Nick almost didn't feel the pain of Meter impaling him with the χ-blade. He _almost_ didn't feel the soul-crushing despair that enveloped his entire being.

But he did feel the agony of his failure.

_My friends are supposed to be my power, and I couldn't protect them at all,_ Nick thought. _Some hero I am... without my friends... I'm nothing..._

That was Nick's last thought as he, too, disappeared completely, leaving nothing behind.

Meter flourished the χ-blade proudly, knowing that the only real threat to her plans had been eliminated. "I know where exactly I should go next," Meter stated to nobody in particular. "After all..."

Meter floated into the air before teleporting away from the Keyblade Graveyard, ready to focus on the next part of her plan.

* * *

Himerish's eyes snapped completely open and he let out a loud gasp of pain, much to the confusion and shock of the council.

"Your Majesty, what is wrong?" Althor asked.

It took a few seconds for Himerish to regain his composure, but his next words horrified everyone in the Congregation Hall.

"The χ-blade... has been forged..."

"Wait, _how_?! I thought the Dark Mother didn't have all the hearts she needed!" Bolgo exclaimed.

"She took the hearts of the keyblade wielders _and_ the Guardians of the Veil," Himerish explained. "As well as the hearts of the other three Queens..."

Yan Lin didn't like the hushed discussions among the other council members, as if they were blaming Himerish for everything that had happened.

_What hogwash,_ Yan Lin thought. _He couldn't have known... could he have?_

Himerish didn't hear the discussions, nor did he hear Yan Lin calling to him. All he could do was stare at his hand in utter disbelief.

"By the gods..." Himerish gasped. "What have I _done_?"

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III..._

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?: ...up...

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?: ...up... ...ke u...

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?: ...pl...se... ...p...

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?: ...yo... ...us... re...rn...

?: ...w...?

?: ...next time... "Where Hearts Return..."


	9. Where Hearts Return

The Gummi Ship landed at the outskirts of the Keyblade Graveyard, and Mira didn't waste any time in racing out of the ship to find out what had just happened.

"Man, _so glad_ Maylin gave us honorary pilot privileges for this thing," Justin quipped.

"Meiling," Katelyn corrected. "She's going by her original name now."

"Well, sorry she never told me!" Justin exclaimed.

"You guys, get off your keesters and let's get moving!" Mallory shouted, already summoning her Starlight. "They might need our help!"

When Mira finally reached the area where the whole shebang had gone down, she frantically raked her gaze around for any sign of her friends who had been there not too long ago.

"W-what?" Mira gasped. "N-No. No, it couldn't be..."

"Mira, seriously, wait for us!" Mallory exclaimed. "You _know _we can't run as fast as you!"

"Hey, does something here feel... _not right_ to any of you?" Katelyn wondered.

Justin stopped to examine the area. Only a few minutes ago, there had been thirteen good guys and eight bad guys, all ready to unleash some kind of hell.

Now, they were the only ones here.

Katelyn suddenly shivered when she felt something strange. Something... _evil_.

"You guys?" Katelyn asked. "Do you feel that?"

"It felt like something sinister was forged here," Mallory quipped.

Just then, it clicked for Mira. "W-wait, _forged_?! You don't think Meter forged the χ-blade, do you?! I thought she didn't have anywhere near enough... hearts..."

Mira trailed off as she realized the horrible truth, her eyes widening in complete shock.

"Hold on, she took the hearts of the Guardians?!" Mallory exclaimed. "Then that must mean..."

"Wait, where's Nick, then?" Justin asked. "You'd think he'd be engaged in some epic battle. Just like last time, remember?"

Mira couldn't even look up, as she didn't want the others to see her expression at the moment.

"He's... he's gone, too. I can't sense him anywhere," Mira stuttered before the full truth finally sank in and she started crying, her tortured wails reverberating through the emptiness of the Keyblade Graveyard.

Mallory could only kneel down and hug her as the truth hit them as well, as they all mourned for their fallen friends.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** The χ-blade has been forged. The Guardians of the Veil are gone, and Nick is dead, having been murdered by Meter. So... if he's dead, then why is he in this strange world of sea and sky with _something_ resembling a form? Nick will have to piece together the mysteries of The Final World, as well as piece _himself_ together if he ever hopes to undo his demise and stop Meter before it's too late...

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**EDIT 1/17/20: **Added another fight to the "boss rush".

* * *

Episode 9: Where Hearts Return

Once again, I woke up with that felt like the mother of all headaches. Seriously, what did I _do_ last night? I _know _I'm too young to drink, so...

As I picked myself up, I almost immediately realized that something _definitely_ wasn't right.

I looked around and saw nothing but what seemed to be an endless expanse of sea and sky, reaching out into infinity.

There seemed to be no visible ground to stand on, only more water, but I was standing on it just fine.

And then it sank in for me.

This was where I'd fought that Darkside the last time I entered my Dive to the Heart.

Did I... find my way back here or something?

I reached up to scratch my head in confusion...

...only to notice that I could see right through my arm.

After a quick moment to think, I looked down and saw that my entire body was basically nothing but a transparent blue outline, even though I could still move myself.

Though, oddly enough, I couldn't feel my heart beating, despite clearly being able to move, and...

Just then, it all came rushing back to me.

My friends are gone.

And apparently, I was killed alongside them, slaughtered by Meter and the χ-blade. I guess that's my punishment for not realizing that this was something she was likely to pull...

I guess all I can do now is stay in this strange sea and wait for the rest of me to... fade... away...

...wait just a minute, _what the hell am I saying?!_

I've been through far worse than this! I basically died when I got wrecked by shadow me way back when, how is this any different?!

And... call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that my friends aren't gone for good.

After all, their hearts were used by Meter to forge the χ-blade, so I bet that if I can _destroy_ the χ-blade, it'll release all of their hearts!

...but figuring out how to do that is a discussion I'm gonna have to have another time, once I've figured out how exactly I'm going to get out of this place.

And that's another thing, too! _Exactly where the hell am I?!_

"Can't stay away now, can you?"

I looked up, gazing around for the source of the voice until I saw a little ball of light floating down from the sky, eventually taking the form of a small, plush doll-like cat creature wearing a gold-and-blue cape.

Oooooookay, as if things haven't gotten weird enough, now we've got a tiny plush cat, and...

Wait, is that... a Chirithy?!

If I remember correctly, they were like partners to keyblade wielders in the age of fairy tales...

"I'm Chirithy," the little plush proclaimed. "And this... is The Final World."

"Name's Nick," I replied, before catching the other statement. "Wait, what's the... 'Final World'?"

"There isn't anything else beyond this," Chirithy explained. "You've actually wandered here before, on your visits to the Station of Awakening."

"You mean, during my Dive to the Heart?" I wondered.

"Yup, but I let those slide," Chirithy answered. "The edges of sleep and death tend to touch, and when that happens, one can't help the occasional crossover."

"Yeah, like that time earlier when I fought a Darkside that was all watery and..."

Just then, something clicked in my mind, and I reeled back in shock.

"W-wait, did you say _death_?!" I exclaimed.

"Yes," Chirithy replied. "This place is the natural end for those whose hearts and bodies perish together."

"Which means, well... I guess I'm dead, then," I sighed. That's gonna be quite the problem.

"But some persist, and thus arrive here," Chirithy continued. "The fact that you still maintain some semblance of a form, though, means that someone or something is holding on to you, refusing to let you go. You're pretty much hanging on by a thread."

"Did... anyone else arrive here alongside me?" I asked.

"As far as I can tell, no," Chirithy answered. "Which means they're either gone forever, or they're still in the world you came from."

"Then... I've gotta go back!" I shouted, raising my hand and summoning the Kingdom Key, somewhat relieved to see I could still use my keyblade even in this strange place.

"Whoa, whoa, _how_, exactly?!" Chirithy gasped. "You can't just wander out like the other times you've been here. Remember what I said? Your previous visits have all been your choice. This time, however, is different. If you want to become your old self and return to the real world, you'll have to piece yourself back together in this world first."

"Is that why I'm all transparent and aqueous?" I quipped. "Because all my pieces are gone?"

"Usually, only a heart can reach the Final World," Chirithy replied. "But since you've clearly managed to retain some kind of form, that must mean your body was brought here as well."

"Okay, so you're basically telling me that if I can find my body, then I can go back?" I wondered. "Because I have something _really_ important that I need to take care of."

"Exactly," Chirithy proclaimed, pointing to just behind me. I looked back...

...yeah, I don't know if I've officially gone crazy or not.

Because now I'm seeing dozens of phantom images of me, each one doing something different.

"But there's quite a lot of you to collect," Chirithy admitted. "You're gonna be busy."

Kinda figured that out already, you know...

And so, I began to move towards all of the different mes, wondering exactly how to do this.

I reached out to touch one of the mes as it dove towards me in some kind of pose, but when it touched me, it disappeared, and a small part of my head reappeared.

Huh. Didn't think it was gonna be that simple.

As I continued to gather as many mes as I could, I occasionally would stop and notice some floating stars made of sparkles among the mes.

And they all had some interesting things to say.

One of them actually talked about trying to find "the sweet weight I carried" that it had apparently lost. Something about beautiful crying, and... oof, I think I just realized what that meant. And now I'm sad.

One said that love and hate being two sides of a coin was a big fat liar. Oh, buddy, if only you've seen the things I've seen...

Another star said that he'd taught someone everything he knew, but the pupil was just sad. 'What more did he want to know?' indeed.

Yet another one said that it felt something for someone, despite constantly claiming they were 'just friends'. Yeah, I know how that feels, since I've seen it all the time, people denying their feelings when it's clear as day. Remember Ruby and Weiss, initially?

So many stars wandered around here, with so many different stories. But, apparently, all of these stars held a connection, something they shared amongst each other.

All of them were here, unable to pass on because of something holding them back. Chirithy had said that I was here because someone was holding onto me (methinks it's my "guild", since they didn't get murdered, just sent away somewhere).

Maybe all of these stars are the hearts of people who couldn't pass on because either something was holding onto them, or they were holding onto something. Some of them had said they had no regrets about their life, but wound up here anyways, which meant they had clearly reconsidered something about their life.

But one star in particular got me interested. When I had refilled at least half of my body, I came across a star that was much larger than the others.

"Um, hello?" I asked. All of the other stars hadn't had a voice to them, even if I could hear them in my mind.

"Good day," the star responded. And I could actually hear her, too! "You still look like a person. How is it that you still retain your appearance? Are you special?"

"Honestly, not sure," I replied. "The details are still a little fuzzy."

"As are we all," the star stated.

"So... whose heart do you belong to?" I asked.

A short sigh. Oof, if I treaded any unpleasant memories again...

"No one's anymore. They took away my name, my memories... everything about me."

"Wait, they couldn't _possibly_ have taken your heart," I replied. "After all, it's still here, right?"

"Only because it pines for another," the star answered.

"Does that mean someone's coming for you?" I wondered.

"I can't be certain. He's been changed beyond recognition, his heart replaced with another's. But... if he were to ever regain his old self, he would no doubt be very distressed by my absence. So I choose to wait here, so he can find me."

"Right. You've gotta _believe_."

"Believe? You mean, know in my heart that he'll return? Without any proof?"

"Exactly. I thought it was all over for me, and yet I'm still sticking around. Man, I really wish I could help you out, but... well, I'm not in much better of a predicament, honestly..."

I sat down next to the star as she floated closer to me.

"You must see to the task before you first."

"Task, huh? There's so many, hehehe..."

"All the more reason to make an effort, I say."

"I honestly wish I knew what to do. I've _never_ been in a problem like _this_ before..."

"Here you stand, on the very brink, and still you hold on to who you are. I can tell you hold a strong sense of purpose. And in that purpose, you will find direction."

I looked up at the star, then allowed myself a smile. "Hey, thanks. You really cheered me up. I really hope you find that friend of yours soon."

The star giggled before replying. "Thank you."

Suddenly, I had an idea. "Hey, if I see your friend, I'll tell him that you're waiting for him here. What's his name?"

The star floated closer so she could whisper said name to me. My eyes widened a bit when the name registered, but I kept my surprise in check and nodded to the star.

"Our secret," the star stated before flying much closer to touch my face. It almost felt like a girl was giving me a kiss.

And why did it feel so familiar?

With our conversation complete, I continued to gather the mes until a strange, spiky protrusion appeared in the center of this seemingly endless void.

It was a large, dark pink sphere with spikes jutting out of it, almost like the portal Strelitzia and I had used to trap that Future Lily so we could finish her off.

Realizing that I really didn't have anything left to lose, I entered the portal and found myself on a large, cube-like structure made up of hundreds of crystalline pillars and cubes, in the shape of, I think, an Euclidean 3-torus (gotta thank Taranee for helping me with them big science words).

And, of course, there were hundreds of mes floating around, each one doing something different. Some of them were swimming through the air, some were spinning along a series of poles, and I swear to Himerish I even saw a row of them doing a silly little dance on one lone platform!

Note to self: learn to dance soon so I don't embarrass myself at social functions, because _I can't dance for crap._

Pushing aside thoughts of my non-existent dancing skills for the moment, I set out to continue collecting my pieces, noting that I could actually glide through the air and use a double jump to keep my mobility going.

It took a little longer than expected, but eventually I collected enough mes to fully restore my body, and with that, I used the portal to return to the endless sea and sky, where Chirithy was waiting for me.

"Found 'em all?" Chirithy quipped. "Then isn't it time that you headed out?"

"Oh, _thanks_," I groaned really sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm actually doing you a big favor here," Chirithy responded. "Don't push your luck."

"Speaking of which, Chirithy, you still look like you, right?" I asked. "Did you want me to help you find _your_ pieces?"

"Oh, I don't work like that," Chirithy answered.

"So... does that mean you're waiting for someone to rescue _you_?"

"Mmmm... sort of?"

"Then just tell me who, and I'll find 'em for you."

Chirithy just shook his head. "Oh, that's okay. He... doesn't remember the past," Chirithy answered. "And I'm sure he's much happier with his new friends. But I'll wait. One day, he'll be here."

"Hey, one day, maybe I'll come back to visit you. After all, we're friends now, right?" I quipped.

Despite being surprised, the Chirithy seemed to actually be happy at the notion. (I wasn't quite sure, as Chirithy didn't seem to have a mouth.)

"Really?" Chirithy asked. "I've missed having friends."

I couldn't help but smile at the little dude as I stood up and walked a couple steps away. "Well, see ya later. And thanks for all your help!"

I raised my right hand to summon the Kingdom Key, and gripped it with both hands to aim it down at the "ground". Light shined around its teeth, eventually forming a keyhole on the "ground" that glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded outwards, reality seeming to shatter in circles around the keyhole.

Not wasting any more time, I jumped into the giant portal, and the keyhole closed.

If I'd stuck around a second longer, I would have noticed that Chirithy was looking rather wistful.

"May your heart be your guiding key."

* * *

When Nick opened his eyes again, he had no idea where he was.

He figured he'd return to the Keyblade Graveyard again, but he was currently standing in the middle of the street within an incredibly dense and industrial city.

"Um... okay, I have _several_ questions..." Nick quipped, only to snap to attention at the sounds of people screaming and monsters growling. Nick quickly summoned the Kingdom Key in order to respond to the threat.

A few seconds later, people ran out of the nearby alleyway being chased by some devilish-looking Creatures of Grimm, including a few Beowolves and a new type of Grimm he'd never seen before, this one having long, black segmented body, each segment having a pair of clawed legs and covered by a protective shell. None of their heads had eyes, but they did have large jaws with four small claws inside them.

"Okay, that's just a _fat_ bag of _no_," Nick proclaimed, raising the Kingdom Key into a fighting stance.

"W-wait, there's a _keyblade wielder_ in Mantle?!" one of the women shouted.

"You all just get to safety!" Nick exclaimed. "I'll take care of these things."

The Beowolves were the ones to strike first, but Nick quickly rushed forward and slashed through their bodies one by one, leaving the halved corpses to dissolve into black mist as he moved to challenge the new threat.

The Centinel responded by burrowing into the ground by spinning its body rapidly like a drill. Nick readied himself for the moment the Centinel would surface.

And when it did, it lunged for him, spinning its jaws in an obvious attempt to eat him.

"I don't think so! _Formchange: Second Form!_" Nick shouted as he lunged forward with a Ripple Drive, catching the Centinel off guard as it surfaced so he could bisect it with a Zantetsuken.

"At least I seem to still have most of the cool stuff I got on this journey," Nick quipped as he leaped over another Beowolf, only to come down and drive the Kingdom Key through its head. "Good sign."

However, just when it seemed that the tide of Grimm had stopped, many more Centinels burrowed up from the ground to surround Nick.

"Oh, come on, can't I get _AT LEAST _one break here?!" Nick shouted.

One of the Centinels lunged, only to be immediately sliced in half by a bright green laser beam from the air.

More of those green laser beams came falling from the sky, effortlessly eliminating all the Grimm that were surrounding Nick.

Nick glanced upwards to his mysterious savior and almost immediately did a double-take.

It was Penny Polendina.

Though she looked different now, with significantly longer hair decorated with a black bow and a Victorian-style dress.

_Wait... I thought Penny was dead?_ Nick thought, remembering what Weiss had told him about the Fall of Beacon. _Well, I guess if she's technically a robot, she could be rebuilt if her core survives... right?_

Penny did one last sweep of the area, making sure no more Grimm were mucking about, before landing on the street. Before Nick could get in a word edgewise, Penny turned towards him, and when they caught eyes, her face lit up like a child on Christmas.

_Wait, does she know me?_ Nick thought. _Maybe Ruby told her about me before the tournament..._

"SALUTATIONS!" Penny shouted, rocketing forward to engulf Nick in a flying hug that sent them both crashing to the ground.

"N-Nice to see you, too, Penny," Nick coughed.

"It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, friend Nick!" Penny laughed. "My friend Ruby has told me so much about you."

"Oh, she did?" Nick quipped. "And... well, she also told me that you... well, _died_. Care to elaborate on your glorious return?"

"Despite my body's destruction, my core and black box were undamaged, and so my father was able to build a new body for me once the Amity Arena had returned to Atlas," Penny explained.

"Whoa, is that where I am now?" Nick asked.

"Affirmative!" Penny proclaimed. "Technically, you are in Mantle, the city below Atlas. How did you get here? Did you arrive on the same airship that Ruby and her friends did?"

Nick just shook his head, spinning the Kingdom Key in his right hand. "Honestly, Penny... you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," Nick laughed. "I'm not exactly sure myself."

"I have seen a great many things," Penny answered. "So, please, tell me your story!"

So Nick did just that, him and Penny walking down the street as Nick explained the events that had led him here.

"So, to Reader's Digest everything," Nick stated. "I think I'm being led through all of the worlds we've been to recently in order to find my way back to the living world, since I'm not even sure if I'm completely alive right now, after what I've just been through."

"Sounds like you find yourself in a lot of trouble," Penny giggled.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Nick quipped.

"By the way... I assume friend Ruby has told you that I am... technically not a real girl?" Penny asked, slight apprehension in her voice.

"And I'm going to say what I'm sure Ruby's told you a bunch of times, Penny," Nick responded. "You _are_ real. To me, it doesn't matter if your body's made of squishy flesh or hard metal. As long as you have a heart and soul, you're a real girl."

Nick immediately opened his arms to accept the hug that came his way.

"Friend Ruby was right about you," Penny giggled. "You are _very super sweet._"

"I've been told," Nick replied.

Penny glanced ahead, only to notice a strange figure standing just ahead of them.

"Look," Penny stated.

"Oh, if another one of those hooded freaks followed me here, I _swear_..." Nick growled, summoning Team Formation to his hands.

However, the hooded figure in question was different, being a boy who hid his face under a white leopard mask. His pale yellow, hooded cloak covered a robe, shirt, and sash that were all yellowish-tan in coloration and have dark grey embroidering with light blue tassels.

"Wait, wait," Nick quipped. "Is that one of the Foretellers? I thought they were all..."

Foreteller Gula didn't waste any time, summoning his keyblade and rushing into battle.

Nick barely had time to recognize the keyblade as the same one Strelitzia had once wielded as Gula rocketed forward at lightning speeds, swinging wildly at Nick. Nick swung his own keyblade out to parry every attack that he could, but one jab while Nick's keyblade was up sent him flying back down the street.

"Hey! _No one_ hurts my friend while I am here!" Penny shouted, raising her hand and sending out the swords of Floating Array to attack Gula, though he raised a barrier to protect himself.

Penny just smiled and used her two spare blades to fire off emerald-green lasers that scythed through Gula's barrier, allowing Nick to move in close and Formchange into Sinister Scythe, ravaging Gula's body with a flurry of spinning attacks.

Gula blocked another scythe attack and struck back with an overhead chop, but this merely made Nick angry, Formchanging into Grand Gauntlets and wailing on Gula with powerful punches.

One more overhead slam sent Gula flying backwards, but instead of retaliating, Gula simply stood at ease and tapped the ground with his keyblade.

With that, Gula vanished by way of his body shimmering and wobbling before disappearing, leaving a portal of light where he had once stood.

"Huh," Nick quipped. "Well, all in who's going in, I guess..."

"Aww, do you have to leave already?" Penny asked.

"Sadly, I gotta, Penny," Nick replied. "I don't want to lose any more of my friends."

"Well, just remember that I am your friend now, and you will always be welcome here," Penny giggled.

"Trust me, Penny, once this is over, we're definitely coming to visit," Nick proclaimed. "We've got a lot to catch up on, after all."

"Then, salutations for now!" Penny exclaimed, floating into the air and rocketing off towards whatever situation needed her.

Nick stood there for a couple more seconds, mentally preparing himself for whatever was going to happen next, before walking into the portal...

...and suddenly finding himself freefalling through a seemingly endless void of darkness.

"What the _hell_?!" Nick gasped, looking downwards to find large portals, each one looking like a stained-glass portrait, much like in his Dive to the Heart. "Maybe I gotta go through each one in order to get back. Well, here goes nothing..."

As he continued to fall, Nick aimed for the portal with a bull emblazoned on it. After a few seconds, he fell through the portal, into a refracting tunnel of light, and eventually fell out of the portal in the middle of the Black Bulls' headquarters, surprising everyone there.

"Oof, rough landing," Nick quipped as he picked himself up.

"You people _have gotta stop_ doing that!" Asta exclaimed. "It's bad enough when _Finral_ does it!"

"Oh, come on, Asta, it was funny," Finral laughed.

"Where... exactly did you _come_ from?" Noelle asked.

Nick dusted himself off, then switched his keyblade to Magic Grimoire. "I reiterate," Nick stated, "you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Are you sure you didn't bring someone else with you?" Vanessa asked, pointing to somewhere behind Nick.

Nick quickly turned around and saw who Vanessa had been pointing to; a young man hiding his face under a white unicorn mask with gold trim, wearing a white, hooded cloak that covered a robe, shirt, and sash that were all light blue with gold embroidering.

"Ira?" Nick gasped. "Seriously, what's going on here?!"

Foreteller Ira didn't mince words and lunged forward to attack, swinging his keyblade in wide sweeps that caused pillars of light to erupt from the ground with each swing.

Nick dodged each pillar as best he could while diving in different directions to keep the Black Bulls from getting hurt in the process.

After a few more pillar attacks, Nick made his move, ducking under a horizontal swing from Ira and slashing Magic Grimoire across his body three times before sending him into the air with a Magic Flash.

Ira, however, quickly retaliated with a spiraling downward slash that unleashed a concussive shockwave of light, pushing Nick back slightly.

While Nick was stumbling, Ira moved in to attack again, but Nick Formchanged into Spell Shield to defend himself from the subsequent attacks and strike back with powerful magic spells.

After getting knocked back, Ira swung Unicornis twice, creating two giant pillars of light to send at Nick. But Nick wasn't fazed, Formchanging into Elemental Force and holding his twin wands up to unleash a powerful burst of magic that shattered the pillars and continued forward to blast Ira backwards.

When Ira picked himself up, he nodded sagely, hoisting his keyblade over his shoulders before vanishing with the same warbling effect and leaving another portal in his wake.

"Okay, this is getting weirder and weirder with each passing second," Nick quipped. "Sorry if I interrupted anything you guys were doing. I'll explain more when I'm most likely not stuck in some strange limbo between life and death."

"Hey, wait!" Charmy shouted, rushing over to Nick and handing him another muffin. This one was much bigger than the last one she'd given him, being a combination of blueberry, chocolate chip, and vanilla. "A muffin for your travels."

"Thanks, Charmy," Nick replied as he accepted the muffin before walking into the portal, making sure to put it in his "magic pocket" on the front of his jacket before he started freefalling again.

"This is too weird," Nick stated as he aimed for the portal that resembled Mihoshi Town. "Why am I seeing the Foretellers? Are they actually here? Are they testing me or something? Jeez, it's like for every question I answer, I've gotta ask myself ten _more_ questions..."

Deciding to ruminate on that later, once he was out of this strange place, Nick reached the portal, fell through the light tunnel, and came out in Mihoshi Town.

After picking himself up, Nick immediately jumped out of the way of a random Star Punch that had missed a nearby Notraider, and noticed the Star Twinkle Pretty Cures were fighting said Notraider.

"Sorry if I interrupted something," Nick stated.

"LOOK OUT!" Yuni shouted as the Notraider turned its attention to Nick, raising her Star Color Pendant to transform. _"Star Color Pendant, Color Charge!"_

Despite his confusion, Nick leaped back to avoid the Notraider's attack before switching his keyblade to Twinkle Rocket and keeping it in place with a Triple Rush, just in time for Yuni to finish her transformation.

"_The rainbow spectrum lighting up the galaxy, Cure Cosmo!"_

"You've got a clear shot! Send this thing to space!" Nick shouted.

"Roger that, nya!" Cure Cosmo exclaimed, aiming her Rainbow Perfume for the Notraider. _"Pretty Cure Cosmo Shining!"_

Cure Cosmo winked before pulling the trigger on her Rainbow Perfume and unleashing a large beam of blue energy that thundered out to finish off the Notraider.

"Another one dusted, nya," Cure Cosmo proclaimed. "So... you're that keyblade wielder my fellow Cures can't shut up about, nya?"

"Hey, he's a cool guy, lun!" Cure Milky retorted.

"So... how exactly did you get here?" Cure Star asked.

"Once again, no clue," Nick responded, spinning Twinkle Rocket in his hands and waiting for the next Foreteller to show up. "It's quite the story."

Cure Soleil quickly shifted into a fighting stance when she noticed someone had appeared just ahead of the group. "Did they send another one?" Cure Soleil asked.

Nick glanced down the street to see a muscular young man hiding his face under a dark grey bear mask. His tan, hooded cloak covered a robe, shirt, and sash that were all light brown in coloration and had black embroidering.

"Well, well, if it isn't Aced," Nick quipped, Formchanging into Star Hammer, figuring he'd need this one for this fight. "I've been waiting for some payback after the last time."

Foreteller Aced simply huffed and barreled down the street towards Nick, who was ready this time, swinging Star Hammer in an overhead arc and smashing it into the ground, creating an upheaval that pushed Aced away.

Aced quickly recovered and leaped through the air, coming down to stab his keyblade into the ground, the force alone forcing Nick to struggle to stay on his feet.

_He's resilient, so I gotta keep up the pressure,_ Nick thought, Formchanging into Galaxy Claws and wailing on Aced with relentless claw swipes and spinning attacks.

However, Aced eventually broke out of Nick's barrage of attacks and swung his keyblade hard enough to send Nick tumbling back the opposite way.

To Nick's surprise, Aced swung his keyblade twice in a cross formation, creating a small rend in the fabric of space that began to suck him towards it.

"All right, you wanna play _that_ game, bear man?!" Nick shouted, clashing the Galaxy Claws together as small nebulas surrounded them before Nick thrust them forward, creating an explosion of energy that resembled a galaxy, flooring Aced almost instantly.

When Aced picked himself up, Nick readied himself for more, but Aced simply picked up his keyblade and walked away, leaving another portal in his wake.

"Um... did he just chicken out, lun?" Cure Milky wondered.

"Not sure, to be completely honest," Nick quipped, reverting his Galaxy Claws back into Twinkle Rocket. "But that's a story for another time."

"Aw, you're leaving?" Cure Star gasped. "But you just got here!"

"I know, but... I've gotta hurry. My friends need my help," Nick answered.

"Come back soon, okay, lun?" Cure Milky asked.

"You bet," Nick responded before leaping into the portal and falling down the chasm of darkness once again.

This time, he aimed for what appeared to be a large tower at the edge of River City, wondering if Misako and Kyoko had found their boyfriends yet.

**("Unseen" by Megan McDuffee plays)**

And as he fell out of the portal into an elaborate office room, Nick once again ducked to avoid the flying body of a yakuza member that sailed over his head and crashed into the nearby wall, completely unconscious.

"That's what you get for getting _too _grabby-grabby, buddy," Misako proclaimed, clacking her spiked knuckles together.

"Hey, buddy!" Kyoko giggled as she and Misako ran up to greet Nick. "What brings you here to the tower of the yakuza?"

"I could ask you two the same thing," Nick answered. "Did you find Kunio and Riki yet?"

"Still no sign of them!" Kyoko exclaimed. "But I've got a feeling we're getting close."

"Someone mentioned the current head of the Sanwakai Yakuza may have had something to do with their disappearance," Misako quipped. "So we came here to storm the castle and get the leader to spill."

"Sounds productive," Nick responded.

Misako looked ahead and shifted into a fighting stance. "Uh-oh, looks like we've got another one," Misako growled.

"Ooh, if it's another one of those 'Ahnold' robot things, I'm gonna bean it fifty times," Kyoko proclaimed. "Those things were _annoying_!"

Nick turned around to size up the new challenger and saw that it was a girl who hid her face under a white fox mask with a blue trim. Her pink, hooded cloak was decorated with light green tassels and covered a white robe, light purple shirt, and light purple sash.

"Okay, wasn't expecting that," Kyoko noted, readying her bat just in case.

"Is she another of those Seekers?" Misako wondered.

"No, she's different," Nick quipped as he summoned Knockout Punch to his hands. "I'll hold her off while you two keep stormin' the castle."

"Roger!" Kyoko proclaimed. "Come on, Misako."

With that, Misako and Kyoko charged up the nearby stairwell while Nick faced off with Foreteller Ava.

Nick was the first to strike, leaping into the air and coming down with a Falling Slash, only for Knockout Punch to phase right through her.

"An illusion?" Nick gasped before diving to the right to avoid the counterattack.

Ava continued to dash around, creating illusions of herself with each dash.

"Sorry, Ava, I've seen that trick before," Nick quipped, casting Thundaga to rain down lightning bolts that dispelled all of the illusions, then charging in and Formchanging into Spike Trap before lashing out with a barrage of punches.

After six or seven punches, Ava leaped backwards and aimed her keyblade for Nick, ribbons of light erupting from the weapon and snaking through the air towards Nick.

Nick spun around and clashed his knuckles together, causing a barrier of spikes to rise behind him and block the ribbons.

Sensing his opportunity, Nick moved in and Formchanged into Full Swing even as Ava continued to create illusions to confuse him. Nick simply swung his bat to dispel each one as he moved closer to Ava.

When he was close enough, Nick made one mighty home run swing towards Ava that sent her flying back towards the elevator.

When she landed, Ava looked up and smiled before disappearing, leaving yet another portal behind.

"One more, probably," Nick quipped as he jumped into the portal and began freefalling again, aiming for the ruined Earth. "Then again, we've been to six different worlds, so who's waiting for me in Tomoeda?"

Nick prepared himself by summoning Shooting Star as he reached the portal and fell through to land on the outer deck of Flyer itself.

"Huh, didn't think it was still in flight," Nick stated. He was about to go down into the control room and see if anyone from Haruka's robot family was piloting Flyer when someone caught his attention.

It was a young woman who hid her face under a blue snake mask. Her light blue, hooded cloak covered a robe, shirt, and sash that were all a darker shade of blue.

It was Invi. His own Foreteller.

"I guess I can't talk you out of this?" Nick quipped.

Foreteller Invi simply raised her keyblade to cast a powerful Thundaga spell, in which the bolts were much larger and way more powerful than his own.

Nick quickly dodged through the bolts and launched a Firaga spell towards Invi, realizing that this was probably going to be a duel of magic.

Invi countered with a super-strong Waterga spell that instantly doused Nick's Firaga and continued on to smash him firmly into the deck. She raised her keyblade to cast Graviga, but Nick quickly recovered himself before Formchanging into Wings of Freedom and spreading his back wings to protect himself from the Graviga's effects.

Before Invi could cast another spell, Nick cast Aeroga under Invi to send her into the air so he could Formchange into Meteor Shower and start firing projectiles to keep Invi in the air.

When she began to fall down, Nick reverted his weapons back into Shooting Star and lunged into a forward chop attack.

A few seconds passed, and Invi stood up, walked forward, and leaned down to give Nick a hug before vanishing, leaving behind a portal in her absence.

Nick couldn't help but smile as some memories flashed into his mind, that of Nick and Invi talking in Daybreak Town, before leaping into the portal once again.

"Well, one more, for real this time," Nick stated. "But who's waiting for me now?"

Bracing himself for whatever was going to happen, Nick switched his keyblade to Key of Clow as he fell through the portal and landed in Tomoeda by Sakura's house.

"All right, whoever's waiting, just come out and show yourself," Nick proclaimed. "I've got places to be, and I need to get there _now_."

To Nick's utter surprise, a figure completely covered by the black cloak of Organization XIII had appeared, and he was carrying the No Name keyblade.

"Oh, you've _gotta_ be kidding," Nick growled, readying Key of Clow for a brawl...

...until something clicked in his mind.

"Hold on, Luxu?" Nick gasped, remembering the first of two completely hidden figures that had been given the No Name.

Luxu simply leaped forward, swinging No Name in a fierce arc and forcing Nick to raise Key of Clow fast to protect himself.

After pushing Luxu away, Nick reacted quickly, Formchanging into Clear Card and rushing Luxu with elemental-imbued combo strikes.

Luxu eventually found a break in the barrage and stabbed No Name into Nick's chest, momentarily dazing him so that Luxu could leap back and launch a volley of dark bolts for Nick.

However, Nick quickly raised his staff and surrounded himself with a barrier of Clear Cards to protect himself.

"Nice try, but I'm wilier than you think!" Nick shouted as he cast Curaga on himself to heal the damage he'd taken (that stab had REALLY FREAKIN' HURT, after all) before jumping back in to the fray.

Luxu raised No Name above his head before slamming it down and causing a dark lightning bolt to travel the length of the street, though Nick swung his staff and batted it away.

Nick took advantage of the lull to jump forward and strike Luxu with one last overhead jumping slash.

As Luxu skidded down the street, he stood there and simply nodded before vanishing, leaving yet another glowing portal in his wake.

"Wait, another one?" Nick asked. "I've been through all six worlds we've been to on this journey, so..."

Deciding to just dive in and ask questions later, Nick shrugged to nobody in particular before hopping into the portal, diving through one last tunnel of darkness and light before landing in, of all places, Heatherfield, on the street just outside Sheffield Institute.

And, of course, one more figure in a black cloak was waiting for him.

"Okay, this is getting old," Nick proclaimed, switching his keyblade to Starlight, only to notice _something_ about this figure that seemed to ring familiar to him.

"W-wait a minute," Nick stuttered. "You're... you're The Master of Masters, aren't you?"

**("Red Swan ~Anime ver.~" by YOSHIKI feat. HYDE plays)**

The Master of Masters nodded before summoning a very familiar keyblade, Himerish's Master Keeper, and charging towards Nick.

Even as Nick dodged away from a barrage of wild swings, he couldn't help but make the connection he had grasped at almost three years ago, on his first visit to the Keyblade Graveyard.

"_This used to be a thriving world, from what I can remember of the legends," Haruka replied. "But it was also the world where Izanami-no-Mikoto called, well, her home, the world she chose to rule. Over the millennia where she existed, thousands upon thousands of keyblade wielders fought bravely to break her hold on the multiverse, only to be struck down. Their keyblades were left as grave markers where they were slain."_

"_Wait, I thought that she was defeated by the first keyblade wielders," Nick responded._

"_She was, but it took many millennia of war in order for it to actually happen," Maylin explained. "The master of masters was essentially immortal, you see. Not many people know, but he was actually the very first wielder of the keyblade. He pretty much linked his soul to the power of his keyblade so he could pass through the generations and assist keyblade wielders in their fight."_

"_When his body passed on, his spirit would eventually return in a new form, like a phoenix from the ashes," Haruka continued. "By the time the master of masters finally found the power to defeat Izanami-no-Mikoto, this world had been reduced to nothing but a barren wasteland, basically what we're standing in right now."_

_Nick gazed around the vistas of the Keyblade Graveyard, trying to imagine someone who had been part of that great war._

"_When Izanami-no-Mikoto had been dealt with, and her avatars scattered to the corners of the multiverse, the master of masters gave his life to seal this world in darkness," Maylin stated. "He knew that someday, she would return, and vowed to protect the different dimensions from the inevitable darkness."_

'_Different dimensions?' Nick thought, trying to think of someone like that, a guardian of the many realities that existed. 'No, that couldn't be.'_

"Wow, was I right all along?" Nick thought as he leaped over The Master of Masters and fired a Thunder spell directly into the ground, driving The Master of Masters back and allowing Nick to go on the offensive.

"Can't waste any time, gotta go all out!" Nick shouted, Formchanging into Second Form S.

The Master of Masters tried to raise Master Keeper to parry, but Nick simply batted it away as he began to ravage The Master of Masters with multiple combo finishers, starting with an Explosion, a revolving ring of five magical orbs, then a Stride Break, a short hop back followed by a powerful forward lunge, and then a Ripple Drive, where Nick swung Starlight upwards and unleashed a large explosion of energy around him resembling a ruby-colored prism barrier that sent The Master of Masters into the air.

Nick continued his attack by leaping into the air in pursuit and transitioning into another string of his classic combo finishers, starting with a Hurricane Period, a string of five somersaulting spin attacks, then an Aerial Finish, a rapid flurry of spiraling slashes around him, and finally a Magnet Splash, an updated version of his old Magnet Burst where Nick spun around to create a sphere of magnetic force that drew The Master of Masters towards him before exploding outwards alongside a ring of light orbs.

Deciding that now was the time to finish this, Nick segued into his special attacks, starting off with a Stun Impact, where he slammed his keyblade into the ground to project a bubble-shaped shockwave to stun The Master of Masters, followed by a Sonic Blade, where he lunged for The Master of Masters multiple times at high speeds, and ending with an Ars Arcanum, a savage flurry of wicked slashes ending with a spinning buzzsaw strike and an overhead slam that sent The Master of Masters flying, though he quickly recovered and leaped to strike with an overhead slash.

Exactly the tell Nick had been waiting for.

"End of the line, _master_! _Ancient Light!_" Nick shouted, thrusting Starlight above him and summoning five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged The Master of Masters, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging The Master of Masters' body and forcing him back to the ground.

Nick readied Starlight for more, only for The Master of Masters to pick himself up and wave to him, lowering his hood to indeed reveal the face of Himerish.

"W-wait, Your Majesty, it really _is_ you?!" Nick gasped. "Are you really here? What's going on?!"

"You pass."

"W... what?" was all Nick could say.

Before Nick could coax any more answers out of him, The Master of Masters opened a corridor of darkness and walked into it.

"I am _so confused_," Nick quipped. "Has Himerish been The Master of Masters this whole time, or is he just a reincarnation of him, like Meiling and Haruka told me? But what did he mean 'you pass'? Did it have something to do with why I've been fighting the Foretellers? They've been gone for _ages_, right? What if this was just a test my own heart's been giving me, to see if I have what it takes to make it back?"

Nick couldn't ponder any further, though, as another portal of light had just opened in front of him, this one looking like it led back to the Keyblade Graveyard where everything had gone to hell.

"Oh, wow, that looks like my chance!" Nick exclaimed. "You know what, I'll ruminate later. I've gotta go stop Meter!"

Not wasting any more time, Nick readied Starlight and jumped into the portal one final time.

_Hold on, everyone. I'm on my way back._

* * *

Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. In mere moments, Meter had decimated everyone that had come with him. All of his friends were gone. Just like that.

Nick was pretty sure he felt his own heart figuratively shatter when the truth finally sunk in, and he fell to his own knees in utter defeat.

"At long last, it is time for the final union," Meter proclaimed, all twenty hearts spiraling around her. "Seven hearts of light. Thirteen hearts of darkness. Long have I waited. Long have I planned. But now, here, on the fated battleground, the legend will finally reach its conclusion! I call upon you now. Come together into my hands, forge the ultimate key, and show me the World to come!"

The twenty hearts began to encircle Star Cluster before absorbing into it and transforming it into a much large weapon.

The χ-blade itself.

The χ-blade appeared to be made up of two crossing Kingdom Keys, with the teeth facing outward, with a filigree that resembled the one from Nick's first Ultima Weapon, and a long, glimmering blade extending from the middle slightly resembling the Dream Sword. Two keychains fell from each Kingdom Key before joining into one larger keychain, and the keyblade token was a black and red heart similar to the Heartless symbol, only without the fleur-de-lis bottom and jagged cross, with two Kingdom Keys crossed over it.

"Perfection," Meter proclaimed, staring in awe at the χ-blade, the weapon she'd waited so long to forge.

She glanced over at Nick, who was still on his knees, utter despair highlighting his expression.

"So you accept that you have lost," Meter stated. "How admirable of you."

"Just... get it over with," Nick whispered, his voice hollow.

"Hmmm... I did not think you would concede so easily," Meter laughed. "I figured you would have at least a _little_ more fight in you, considering how far you have come. But if you miss your precious _friends_ so much..."

Meter teleported in front of Nick, holding him up by the neck, the broken keyblade wielder not even bothering to fight back.

"...then I will grant you that mercy and send you to them."

Nick almost didn't feel the pain of Meter impaling him with the χ-blade. He _almost_ didn't feel the soul-crushing despair that enveloped his entire being.

But he did feel the agony of his failure.

_My friends are supposed to be my power, and I couldn't protect them at all,_ Nick thought. _Some hero I am... without my friends... I'm nothing..._

That was Nick's last thought as he, too, disappeared completely, leaving nothing behind.

Meter flourished the χ-blade proudly, knowing that the only real threat to her plans had been eliminated. "I know where exactly I should go next," Meter stated to nobody in particular. "After all..."

Before Meter could teleport away, however, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

The Gummi Ship landed at the outskirts of the Keyblade Graveyard, and Mira didn't waste any time in racing out of the ship to find out what had just happened.

"Man, _so glad_ Maylin gave us honorary pilot privileges for this thing," Justin quipped.

"Meiling," Katelyn corrected. "She's going by her original name now."

"Well, sorry she never told me!" Justin exclaimed.

"You guys, get off your keesters and let's get moving!" Mallory shouted, already summoning her Starlight. "They might need our help!"

When Mira finally reached the area where the whole shebang had gone down, she frantically raked her gaze around for any sign of her friends who had been there not too long ago.

"W-what?" Mira gasped. "N-No. No, it couldn't be..."

"Mira, seriously, wait for us!" Mallory exclaimed. "You _know _we can't run as fast as you!"

"Hey, does something here feel... _not right_ to any of you?" Katelyn wondered.

Justin stopped to examine the area. Only a few minutes ago, there had been thirteen good guys and eight bad guys, all ready to unleash some kind of hell.

Now, they were the only ones here.

Katelyn suddenly shivered when she felt something strange. Something... _evil_.

"You guys?" Katelyn asked. "Do you feel that?"

"It felt like something sinister was forged here," Mallory quipped.

Just then, it clicked for Mira. "W-wait, _forged_?! You don't think Meter forged the χ-blade, do you?! I thought she didn't have anywhere near enough... hearts..."

Mira trailed off as she realized the horrible truth, her eyes widening in complete shock.

"Hold on, she took the hearts of the Guardians?!" Mallory exclaimed. "Then that must mean..."

"Wait, where's Nick, then?" Justin asked. "You'd think he'd be engaged in some epic battle. Just like last time, remember?"

Mira couldn't even look up, as she didn't want the others to see her expression at the moment.

"He's... he's gone, too. I can't sense him anywhere," Mira stuttered before the full truth finally sank in and she started crying, her tortured wails reverberating through the emptiness of the Keyblade Graveyard.

Mallory could only kneel down and hug her as the truth hit them as well, as they all mourned for their fallen friends.

"Um... you guys?" Justin stuttered. "I think we've got trouble."

"Justin, this is _not _the... freakin'..." Mallory started, but trailed off when she saw Meter floating in front of them, the χ-blade clutched tightly in her hand.

"Oh, shit."

"Frightened," Meter laughed. "You should be. After all, I have forged the ultimate keyblade. Nothing will remain of your precious worlds very soon."

Meter raised the χ-blade towards Mira even as Katelyn and Mallory moved to hug Mira and protect her.

"Hmph," Meter huffed. "Do you really think that you are safe? _Nothing_ is beyond my grasp now. Not even your precious existences."

"Guess again, _bitch_!"

Meter looked up in surprise just in time to see Nick emerge from a portal of light and slash Starlight straight towards her. Though she raised the χ-blade to defend herself, Nick was still able to push her back with a Ripple Drive.

"W-what?!" Meter gasped. "How is this possible?! I killed you with my own hands!"

"Nothing's impossible if you believe in it," Nick proclaimed. "And you've got _so much _to answer for, you know that?"

Meter, despite her obvious shock at Nick returning from death, simply smirked. "Ah, it does not matter," Meter laughed. "I have the χ-blade, so do not think you will be so lucky this time, boy."

Nick raised Starlight into a battle stance, ready for the fight of his life. "Just cut the goddamn small talk and _let's get it on_."

Meter's smirk became a wicked smile as she raised the χ-blade above her head.

"As you wish."

Droves of darkness began to gather around Meter's body, eventually forming a cocoon of shadows around her that slightly darkened the sky above them.

The cocoon surrounding Meter eventually shattered to reveal that Meter had clad herself in a wicked-looking set of Keyblade Armor that made her resemble some kind of avatar of nature, with how many parts of the armor looked like wood and bark, clashing horrendously with the metal. Her helmet resembled the ancient goat deity Baphomet.

"Here, in this wasteland of death and broken keys, you will meet your end once again, boy," Meter proclaimed, her voice distorted by her armor.

Nick answered by leaping upwards and slashing Starlight forward to knock Meter away. "I said _shut up and fight, _you cocky old hag!" Nick growled.

"We're with you, Nick!" Katelyn shouted, as the rest of the guild rushed to Nick's side and summoned their own Starlights to battle.

"All the way," Justin proclaimed.

"No matter what," Mallory stated.

"By your side to the very end," Mira giggled.

Nick nodded, feeling his confidence returning. "Thanks, everyone. Now let's _end_ this bitch!"

"You will die trying," Meter laughed. "As you did before, and as you shall do again."

Nick just lunged forward, having had enough of Meter's rambling. However, Meter raised her free hand and caused a pillar of rock to erupt from the ground in front of Nick.

"Oh, nice try, but I've seen _that_ trick before," Nick laughed, ripping forward with a Zantetsuken. Despite not appearing to do much damage, the attack stunned Meter momentarily, allowing Justin and Mallory to go on the offensive.

Justin started by unleashing an Ars Solum that thankfully did more damage thanks to Mallory casting Armor Break on Meter and lowering her defenses.

"Do not think lowering my resistance will save you from me," Meter laughed, only to be stopped by Justin pretty much forgoing his keyblade and slugging Meter in the face with a swift right hook.

"Didn't Nick tell you to shut up, you witch?!" Justin shot back.

"_Really_, Justin?" Katelyn groaned. "You have a powerful weapon on your side, and the best you can think to do is _punch_ the freak show?"

"Hey, it worked!" Justin proclaimed. "...even if the armor _did_ bruise my hands a little. Worth it!"

"You _dare_..." Meter growled, rushing at Justin and attacking by swinging the χ-blade four times in different directions before ending with a point-blank shot of ice magic that froze Justin in his spot.

"You will know your place," Meter proclaimed, only to be blasted backwards by a souped-up Thunder spell, courtesy of Nick being buffed by Mallory's Mana Charge spell.

Katelyn moved in to melt the ice encasing Justin with a Firaga spell, followed by Mira healing Justin with Curaga.

Nick, meanwhile, rushed to attack Meter, leaping upwards and Formchanging into Second Form S to send Meter flying with a Magnet Burst.

"Fool!" Meter shouted, lunging forward while Nick was recovering to grab him with her free hand and slam him into the ground. Meter them aimed the χ-blade directly for him, charging up a powerful ice spell. "Now you will freeze in agony."

"Hands off, bitch!" Katelyn shouted, firing a Blizzaga of her own to send Meter tumbling backwards so she could help Nick to his feet. "You okay, buddy?"

"Glad I don't have to know what it feels like to be an ice sculpture," Nick quipped. "Justin kinda learned that the hard way."

"Do not think I am done," Meter laughed, raising the χ-blade and calling down a ring of dark lightning around Nick, then charging forward to attack. Mallory wasted no time in casting Reflega on Nick to protect him from the bolts, and when Meter was close enough, Nick swung Starlight to shatter the Reflect barrier and send all the damage back to Meter, which caused cracks to appear in her Keyblade Armor.

"Guess you're not as invincible as you thought, huh?" Nick taunted.

"Your victory was not written!" Meter shot back, aiming her free hand for the nearby cliff and causing many of the dead keyblades buried in the rock to wrench themselves free and swirl around the battlefield. Nick and his guild had to stay on the move to avoid the flying keyblades.

"Now choke on despair," Meter proclaimed, darkness surrounding her body.

"Not today!" Mira exclaimed, hopping off of Justin's shoulders and stabbing her Starlight into Meter's armored face, driving her backwards and causing the flying keyblades to fall to the ground, many of them shattering into pieces upon impact.

"So the _healer_ shows some backbone," Meter taunted, only for Mira to swing her Starlight like a home run bat and spike Meter into the ground.

"Don't _ever_ underestimate the white mage," Mira giggled as she landed on the ground to rejoin her friends.

Meter picked herself up quickly, trying to make it seem like she still had all the advantages, even though the image was offset by the multitude of cracks in her Keyblade Armor and the fact that she had to balance herself on the χ-blade.

"H-How?" Meter gasped. "How am I being defeated? I have the χ-blade. I should be all-powerful!"

"Maybe you forgot," Nick shot back, his Starlight glowing brightly. "Power is nothing compared to the heart of the one who wields it."

"You've been so blinded by your arrogance and superiority complex that you can't comprehend losing," Katelyn proclaimed, her Starlight glowing brightly.

"We've faced our fair share of bad guys who always claimed they were invincible and undefeatable, too," Justin laughed, his Starlight glowing brightly.

"But when we actually started fighting back, that façade fell apart to reveal that you're just frightened of not being the most powerful being in the multiverse!" Mallory taunted, her Starlight glowing brightly.

"Your arrogance is going to be your downfall, Meter," Mira stated, her Starlight glowing brightly.

A bright circle of light surrounded the five wielders, forming into the shape of a crown underneath them.

"You underestimated us, Meter," Nick stated, raising his Starlight towards Meter. "And that's the worst mistake _any villain_ could make!"

Meter attempted to raise the χ-blade to strike while they were charging their finishing move, only for the light they were gathering to become so bright that Meter had to cover her eyes despite the armor.

"_Cleansing Light!"_ Nick, Katelyn, Justin, Mallory, and Mira all shouted together, touching their Starlights to each other and unleashing a massive blast of golden light from the teeth. Meter could only scream in terror as the wave of golden light consumed her.

When the light died down, Meter was surprisingly still standing, though her Keyblade Armor had been completely destroyed by the Cleansing Light attack.

"Now give it up," Nick growled.

"Not... on your life," Meter gasped, picking herself up and floating into the air, the χ-blade still clutched tightly in her hands. "I guess I have no choice but to accelerate my final plan."

"Wait, 'final plan'? What exactly are you babbling about _now_?!" Justin proclaimed. "Need I remind you that you just got your _shit wrecked_?!"

"We will have to pick this up another time," Meter stated. "But just to be sure you don't follow me... I have a friend for you all to play with."

Meter raised the χ-blade and shot a blast of pure darkness into the air before wrapping herself in a corridor of darkness and escaping.

"Um, what did she just do?" Mallory gasped.

A loud shriek from Mira caught everyone's attention, and they looked up just in time to see an incredibly horrifying sight.

What looked to be hundreds of thousands of Heartless and Nobodies were all converging on the area, merging together in some unholy gathering to eventually form into a gigantic cyclone of darkness that towered over the entire Keyblade Graveyard.

"How in god's name are we supposed to fight _that_?!" Justin shouted as the Demon Maelstrom slowly inched closer to their position.

"I guess the only way to do it... is one Heartless at a time!" Nick shouted, brandishing his Starlight and rushing forward to meet the challenge head-on.

"NICK, WAIT!" the other four wielders exclaimed.

The Demon Maelstrom simply fired off a burst of those demonic, red-eyed Shadows towards Nick even as he leaped to attack.

However, before Nick could get close, a bright light enveloped him, causing everything around him to fade into white.

All except three people who were now standing in front of him.

Nick recognized one of the girls as Strelitzia, another keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales that had assisted him many times on his second journey.

But the other two, a boy with curly silver hair and blue eyes, and a girl with long black hair and brown eyes, currently eluded his memory.

All of a sudden, a few memories began to flash through his mind, most likely from his previous life in the age of fairy tales.

"Ephemer?" Nick gasped. The silver-haired boy nodded.

"Skuld?" Nick asked. The black-haired girl winked.

"You, too, Strelly?" Nick wondered. Strelitzia just smiled.

"Need some help?" Ephemer, Skuld, and Strelitzia asked.

"W-whatever you can give would be appreciated," Nick replied, ultimately finding himself back in the Keyblade Graveyard, facing down the Demon Maelstrom.

Before he could ponder, something was reflected in his eyes.

Nick looked upwards...

...and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

**("Red Swan ~Full ver.~" by YOSHIKI feat. HYDE plays)**

Flying towards them from all over the Keyblade Graveyard were thousands upon thousands of keyblades, every single one shining with a bright golden light. The swarm of keyblades circled the Demon Maelstrom, preventing it from getting any closer, before flying down towards where Nick was standing.

Quickly getting the intent, Nick started running before leaping into the air and landing on one of the Starlights in the swarm, which lit up when his feet touched it. Nick began riding the swarm of keyblades like a surfboard around the area before booking it straight for the Demon Maelstrom.

The Demon Maelstrom attempted to strike Nick down with a clump of shadows, only for five differently-colored Starlights to surround him and dissipate the attack. Nick quickly recognized the different colors as the colors that represented the Unions.

As the Demon Maelstrom prepared to attack again, the five Union Starlights flew to in front of Nick, arranging them in a five-pointed star formation before becoming a large, bluish-white star that Nick recognized as Lux.

Nick smiled, nodding in understanding. "All right. _Let's go, everybody!_"

The Demon Maelstrom went on the offensive, but Nick began swinging his own Starlight rapidly, and with each swing, the Lux in front of him retaliated with a wide burst of hundreds of ethereal keyblades to drive the Demon Maelstrom back, each burst actually chipping away at the Heartless that composed it.

Nick never let up, constantly swinging Starlight to blast the Demon Maelstrom apart, and eventually, a large enough hole in the cyclone had been created, allowing Nick to ride the swarm of keyblades directly into the eye of the storm, so he could attack the Dark Core directly.

"Now's our chance!" Nick exclaimed, knowing he was speaking to all of the keyblade wielders from the age of fairy tales.

The gigantic Dark Core at the center of the Demon Maelstrom began to launch orbs of darkness tinted by red light, but Nick continued to attack, blasting more and more Heartless into nothingness with each burst of ethereal keyblades, while physically batting away any dark orbs that slipped through his guard.

Despite the Demon Maelstrom's best efforts, Nick continually blasted away its components until light finally began to shine through the darkness.

"We can't let up now!" Nick exclaimed, still swinging wildly until the Lux had finally destroyed all the Heartless that made the Demon Maelstrom, leaving only the Dark Core.

"We're almost finished! Let's end it!" Nick shouted, white light surrounding his Starlight and traveling the length of the keyblade swarm until it shined with all the radiance of the sun itself. Nick let out one last battle cry before charging forward, Starlight extended, to pierce straight through the Dark Core and cause it to contract violently before exploding outwards, the darkness finally dissipating completely.

Nick rode the keyblade swarm back down to the ground, then hopped off to land by his guild, waving to all the keyblades as they floated into the air, formed a large dome shape, then contracted around each other before vanishing in a brilliant explosion of light.

"What the _hell_ was all that about, Nick?!" Justin exclaimed once the area was calm again. "What were all those keyblades doing helping you?!"

"They were... the spirits of keyblade wielders," Mallory gasped. "From a long, long time ago."

"You mean... from the age of fairy tales?" Katelyn wondered.

"The light of the past," Mira gasped.

"Well, whatever it was, it was _incredible_!" Justin exclaimed. "But... we've still got a problem. Meter escaped, after all."

"Don't worry, Justin," Nick responded. "Wherever she went, we'll find her and we'll put an end to her plans once and for all. ...um, how exactly are we going to leave here if we don't have access to the Gummi Ship?"

"Oh, we thought of that," Mallory giggled. "Meiling gave us honorary piloting privileges for the Gummi Ship before we came here the first time, just in case something went wrong, which it obviously did. It's how we got back here so quickly after we got ejected."

"And that's _another_ thing, Nick!" Katelyn shouted. "_How exactly did you come back to life?!_ I thought Meter had killed you!"

"Well... she did, but..." Nick started. "Honestly, I'm still not sure what a lot of that was, but... long story short, after I died, I found myself in a place called The Final World, which is basically the limbo between life and death, then I met a Chirithy and..."

"Wait, you saw a Chirithy?!" Mira gasped.

"Yeah, but I don't know whose it was," Nick answered. "Anyways, Chirithy told me I had to gather the pieces of my body, since something..."

Mira couldn't contain herself any longer and threw herself into Nick's arms. "You know what, to heck with the reasons," Mira cried. "I'm just so happy you're not actually dead!"

"Hey, it's okay, Mira," Nick replied, returning Mira's hug. "I already died once. I don't feel like pushing my luck any more than I already have."

"Then what are we waiting for, peeps and cronies?" Katelyn proclaimed. "Let's get back to the Gummi Ship and find Meter before she pulls any of her psycho tricks!"

Nothing more needed to be said as the group retreated back to the Gummi Ship so they could find Meter before it was too late.

Thankfully, it didn't seem to take too long to find her destination, as the first thing Nick saw when the Gummi Ship returned to Starlight Way was the palace of Candracar completely surrounded by darkness.

"Of _course_ she'd go to Candracar," Justin groaned.

"What could she want there?" Mira asked.

"Probably wants to eliminate all the competition before she starts acting like Thanos," Mallory replied.

"Nick, if you wanna take a quick breather before we head down there, now would be the time," Katelyn offered. "I'm sure you're probably at least a _little _exhausted after everything you've been through."

"Much as I'd like to, Katie, I don't think we've got that kind of time," Nick responded. "We've got to get to Candracar and stop her _on the double_."

Katelyn smiled before placing her hand on top of Nick's, to which the rest of them followed. "We're with you, Nick," Katelyn proclaimed.

"All the way," Mallory replied.

"No matter what!" Justin proclaimed.

"By your side forever and ever," Mira giggled.

Nick couldn't help but smile at the thought of his friends giving him strength. _Don't worry, everyone, I'll be getting you back soon, I hope._

With that said, Nick piloted the Gummi Ship towards Candracar, ready for what he felt would be the toughest fight of his life.

Ready to end the Dark Mother and her plans once and for all.

Ready as he ever was to get his friends and loved ones back.

_To be concluded..._

* * *

_Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III..._

Mallory: Well, fam, _this is freakin' it!_

Justin: At last, we've reached the conclusion of this trilogy of adventures!

Katelyn: It's been an incredibly fun ride, but it has to end at some point, right?

Mira: The next _and last_ episode is the long-awaited final fight with the Dark Mother! Ooh, I'm so excited!

Nick: Do I have what it takes to stop Meter from spreading absolute chaos across the multiverse? Like _hell_ am I spoiling _anything_! You'll just have to read on and find out, next time on the final episode of _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III_, "Find Your Way Home"!

Absolutely Everyone: May your hearts be your guiding key!


	10. Find Your Way Home

Nick kept a firm grip on his keyblade as he and his guild raced through the halls of Candracar, hoping to find Meter and defeat her before it was too late.

As they continued the chase, Nick couldn't help but think back to three years ago, before all of this had started.

Remembering the days when school was the most troubling thing in his life, along with thoughts of his secret crush and the fat lot of nothing he could do while she was still with Caleb.

It still felt surreal to Nick how one simple twist of fate had upended his life in such a spectacular way.

But, as he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that he wouldn't change any of it.

After all, receiving the keyblade had meant a lot to him.

He had been able to explore many different worlds and meet so many new friends.

He had finally hooked up with the love of his life.

He had gained an unbreakable connection with so many people that he never would have even known existed otherwise.

And that was Nick cherished the most about his adventures.

The unbreakable connections.

No matter how far apart they were, Nick treasured the friends he had made, knowing they would always stay a part of each others' hearts no matter what.

And as the Congregation Hall began to become visible to them, Nick steeled his resolve, knowing that his best friends still needed him.

After all, if there was any chance to save them from their fate of being harvested for the χ-blade, Nick would take it, no questions asked.

The guild approached the Congregation Hall, summoning their keyblades for what would undoubtedly be the final battle.

And Nick was ready for it.

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III  
_**Story Created:** April 17th, 2019  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Laura Post_ as **The Dark Mother Meter**

**Story Summary:** It's been two years since Nick and his friends became Keyblade Masters and defeated the nefarious Organization XIII. However, an ancient evil is approaching the worlds, the very evil that they became Keyblade Masters to fight. The Dark Mother Meter, once the Elemental Queen of Spring, intends to gather pieces of light and darkness in order to forge an ancient weapon called the χ-blade and unleash chaos upon the worlds. Our heroes must take up their keyblades for one final journey to stop the Dark Mother from ending all of existence. What challenges will they face along the way? Could Meter's motives have something to do with the age of fairy tales? And can Nick and his friends pull through to defeat Meter before it's too late?

**On Today's Episode:** At last, the time has come. Nick confronts the Dark Mother Meter in Candracar for the final battle, one last showdown for the fate of everything that ever was and ever will be. Despite having shaken Meter in their first fight, Nick knows that Meter is still a powerful opponent, especially with the legendary χ-blade at her side. What tricks will both sides pull out in this last fight, and can Nick triumph over the greatest opponent he's ever faced?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

**EDIT 1/17/20: **Changed a bit of the finale so that it didn't contradict stuff my characters have said in previous stories.

* * *

Episode 10: Find Your Way Home (FINAL EPISODE)

Sure enough, Nick could see Meter floating above the Congregation Hall, no doubt addressing the council in her own wicked way.

_Well, that ends right now_, Nick thought as the guild entered, keyblades drawn and ready to fight.

"METER!" Nick shouted, drawing the Dark Mother's attention.

Drawn by Nick's voice, Meter turned around, sporting a wicked grin. "Ah, you have made it at last," Meter laughed. "I was wondering when you would show up to face me."

"Look, just cut the crap, lady!" Nick growled. "I'm only warning you once. Give me back my friends _or else_!"

"How sad to say that you will never see them again," Meter proclaimed, summoning the χ-blade to her hands and shocking most of the council. "As long as the χ-blade remains, their hearts will never leave their imprisonment. And I highly doubt you're going to see the end of this day."

"Oh, don't start getting cocky," Justin shot back. "Remember how, not too long ago, we absolutely _spanked_ your wrinkly ass?!"

"...really, Justin?" Mallory groaned.

"Oh, yes, _that_," Meter chuckled. "I was merely holding back. Testing your skills, as it were."

"You... you were holding out on us?!" Katelyn shouted.

"Wait a minute, something's not right here," Nick quipped, realizing that someone very important was missing. "What did you do to the Oracle?!"

"Nothing, boy," Meter answered. "He simply resigned his position, unable to bear the suffering of his failure to keep me contained."

"H-Himerish _quit_?!" Mira gasped.

"One obstacle to my plan removed," Meter cackled. "And now, so shall _you_ be exterminated from this existence."

Meter swung the χ-blade diagonally, causing a powerful gust of dark wind to push Mallory, Justin, Katelyn, and Mira to just outside the Congregation Hall, a dark barrier forming to keep them out of the battle that was about to ensue.

"No more sad souls to help you now," Meter laughed.

"That's okay," Nick replied, summoning the Kingdom Key, the "oversized lockpick" (Irma's words, not his) that had begun all of this. What more fitting way to end it? "My friends don't need to physically be at my side to be my power. As long as we keep each other in our hearts, they give me the strength I need. I've made so many friends along my adventures, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in this great wide world of ours."

Nick raised the Kingdom Key into a fighting stance. "My friends are my power, Meter. Would you like a _taste_ of what you've _shunned_ all these years?!"

Meter just sighed in exasperation, then raised the χ-blade in challenge. "Very well, then, boy," Meter proclaimed. "You have been a thorn in my side for long enough. If you're in such a hurry to die..."

Nick and Meter faced each other down, weapons at the ready.

"...then I will do all I can to hasten your inevitable demise."

"Oh, just stop your yapping and let's do this."

With that, Nick and Meter lunged for each other.

"As you wish,_ boy_!"

Meter struck first, swinging the χ-blade vertically, then horizontally, then a rising slash, and then a downswing. Nick parried each attack as best he could before looking for an opening.

Nick just barely had time to dive away from a large fireball that Meter had just sent his way, raising a Reflect barrier to block the next one, only for it to shatter instantly upon contact.

"Okay, not good," Nick quipped, hastily throwing up another Reflect to defend against yet another fireball. After avoiding a third fireball, Nick noticed that Meter had slowed, almost as if she needed to recharge after all those spells.

Seeing his opportunity, Nick rushed towards Meter, landing three clean blows before driving her back with a Speed Slash.

"Yeah, how'd you like _that_?!" Nick challenged, only for Meter to lunge back towards him, grabbing him by the collar, then floating upwards and spiking him to the ground with a downswing from the χ-blade.

Nick picked himself up, then rolled away to avoid Meter stabbing the χ-blade into the ground where he'd just been. With the χ-blade stuck, this left Meter open, so Nick capitalized by Formchanging into Second Form and blasting Meter into the ceiling with a Ripple Drive.

Nick didn't bother going to attack the χ-blade itself, knowing that Meter could just warp it back to her hands like any keyblade, which she did.

"Admirable," Meter admitted. "But fruitless."

"You wanna put that where your mouth is?!" Nick shot back.

Meter simply raised her hand and conjured a ring of flames around Nick. Acting quickly, Nick again cast Reflega as the flames converged on him, exploding harmlessly against the barrier.

However, Meter took this chance to lunge forward, stabbing at Nick three times, each hit chipping away at his barrier, before shattering it with a horizontal swing from the χ-blade, then a vertical strike followed by a spinning attack. Nick parried the last spinning attack before retaliating with a Stride Break that knocked Meter backwards.

When she regained her balance, Meter sliced the χ-blade through the air to create a pillar of fire that traveled along the ground towards Nick, who lunged away from it, knowing he probably couldn't defend against it.

While he was doing this, Meter snapped her fingers to create eight green fireballs around Nick.

"Oh, come on, you tried this already!" Nick shouted, casting Reflega as the fireballs converged on him...

...only for the fireballs to phase through the barrier and explode around him, warping him directly in front of Meter, who ravaged him with a series of four spinning attacks, then grabbed him with her glowing free hand and dove downward to smash him into the ground.

"Just end this pointless struggle," Meter laughed.

Nick responded by slashing the Kingdom Key across Meter's face, causing her to reel back in obvious agony. Nick took advantage of this opportunity to leap back into the fray, striking Meter at least four times before laying into her with a Sonic Blade.

Meter floated back towards Himerish's chair after the Sonic Blade attack, her hand resting along the long scar Nick had sliced into her face.

"You are going to pay _dearly_ for that, _boy_," Meter growled.

"Oh, what, did I touch a nerve?" Nick shot back. "And besides, you're not the ultimate beauty in this world. I know some girls who are _far_ more beautiful than you."

Meter would have retorted, but she just relaxed and smiled, realizing that it was time to play her trump card.

"Humor me for a second, boy," Meter proclaimed. "You do remember what happened to the one true Kingdom Hearts, right?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, not sure what Meter was getting at. "It vanished completely after the first Keyblade War, never to be seen again."

Meter looked up to the ceiling. "Yes, it vanished from the world... but I know where it sleeps."

"What are you babbling about _now_?!" Nick shouted.

"I assume you understand that Candracar is a barrier of sorts, a defender of the infinite dimensions," Meter explained. "But something I did not learn until recently... well..."

Meter floated over to the center of the Congregation Hall, the χ-blade glowing brightly. "Candracar hides another secret. The true reason it was constructed in the center of the universe. The real purpose behind its defense of the dimensions."

Nick took a few steps away from Meter, expecting her to attack at any moment...

...and let out a gasp of shock when he finally realized what exactly Meter was saying.

"Ah, so you _do_ understand!" Meter laughed. "You are smarter than I gave you credit for."

Meter raised the χ-blade, a complex magic circle appearing on the floor beneath her.

"The answer, boy, is what lies beneath this palace," Meter proclaimed, raising the χ-blade high above her head. "Just below us, guarded by Candracar's mystic veil for an eternity since the Old World, rests the ultimate source of power, the origin of all hearts."

Nick readied himself, knowing chaos was about to erupt very swiftly.

"Beneath our very feet... lies the one, true _Kingdom Hearts_!"

Meter stabbed the χ-blade into the center of the magic circle, causing droves upon droves of light and darkness to spill out from the keyhole and envelop everything in sight.

Nick ran to the edge of the magic circle in hopes of reaching his friends, but got there one step too late as Candracar itself unraveled around him, dissolving in spectacular fashion until all that remained was him, Meter, the now-darkened sky full of stars...

...and a planet-sized, heart-shaped moon below the enlarging magic circle.

Kingdom Hearts itself.

"With the χ-blade, I have now unlocked the door to the true Kingdom Hearts!" Meter laughed. "You must understand that there is no hope for you."

"Wrong," Nick shot back, which caused Meter to tense up slightly. "As long as I'm still here, still fighting, there's hope. You may have eliminated Kingdom Hearts' last defenses, but you kinda forgot about lil' ol' me. So come at me, Meter!"

"If that is what you desire, boy," Meter proclaimed. "I will erase you, and you will perish having amounted to _absolutely_ nothing!"

Meter charged, and Nick was ready, their weapons clashing multiple times as they moved around the magic circle.

Nick eventually parried an upswing from Meter and countered with a Zantetsuken, not too surprised to see that it didn't do too much damage.

Meter retaliated by warping around to slash at Nick from multiple angles, emerging from keyhole-shaped portals with each teleport. After about six or seven swings, Meter finished by upswinging three times, each swing knocking Nick higher into the air.

As she moved in for a final blow, Nick recovered and struck downwards with a Falling Slash, causing Meter to crash back into the magic circle.

"Sorry, _bitch_, but I'm not dead yet!" Nick shouted.

"But you will be soon," Meter shot back, starting to lose her composure as she unleashed three different elemental spells at once; a burst of ice, followed by three large fireballs, and finally three dark lightning bolts. The three spells joined into one large blast of pure elemental chaos that exploded upon contact with the magic circle and sent Nick flying back.

Meter followed up by firing a flurry of dark energy bolts, to which Nick batted them all away before moving in to send Meter flying with a Hurricane Period.

"Hmph," Meter huffed.

"Oh, what, salty that you're _losing_?!" Nick taunted, nailing Meter with an Aerial Finish.

"You will learn to hold your tongue, boy!" Meter shouted, warping to the center of the magic circle and raising thirteen pillars of light around herself, then sending each one out to rush Nick.

Nick made sure to dodge each pillar, pretty sure he couldn't block those, before leaping into the air and performing a Magnet Burst, drawing Meter closer before sending her flying back with the light orbs.

"Seems like I need to teach you a lesson," Meter proclaimed, aiming the χ-blade towards Nick. "Give in to your shadow."

Nick's body suddenly convulsed as light left his body, leaving him stuck in Rage Form.

Meter laughed before summoning more light pillars to defend herself as Nick galloped towards her, intent on taking his light back.

Meter continually warped around, striking at Nick from multiple angles and giving him no time to attack her. Thankfully, Nick was able to dodge through one slightly higher swing and go to town, attacking Meter swiftly and furiously. With each hit, orbs of light fell from Meter's body and re-absorbed into Nick's body.

When Nick had regained enough of his light, he plunged the Kingdom Key into the ground and submerged the area around him in darkness. Orbs of darkness surrounded Nick before generating spikes and spinning around, dealing massive damage to Meter and almost forcing her to drop the χ-blade.

His attack spent, Nick returned to his normal self. "Nice try," Nick laughed.

"Oh, don't think I am finished," Meter proclaimed as she floated into the air, the sky turning an oppressive gray.

**("Adamas" by LiSA plays)**

Thirteen large thrones rose around the magic circle, resembling the Organization's meeting room. Meter floated into the highest chair, her body glowing with darkness.

"Now you _expire_," Meter proclaimed, raising the χ-blade and causing many, _many_ afterimages of her to fly out from her body and attack Nick. All the while, the twelve empty thrones began to fire dense rays of light towards Nick, forcing him to stay constantly on the move, parrying each afterimage of Meter and diving away from the light rays.

This continued on for quite a while, until multiple light rays fired for Nick at once, forcing him to erect a Reflega to protect himself.

Meter smirked as all thirteen thrones fired light rays that combined into a much larger blast, one that Nick couldn't protect himself from, the beam breaking through his barrier and flooring him instantly.

"Ready to give up?" Meter proclaimed. "I offer you one last chance to surrender peacefully."

"_Never_," Nick shot back, picking himself up and aiming the Kingdom Key for Meter, light shining around its teeth. "As long as chaos and discord threatens our world... I will _never stop fighting_!"

Nick fired a gigantic beam of light from his keyblade that streaked through the empty air and slammed into Meter...

...only for her to shake it off like it was nothing.

"Very well," Meter proclaimed. "You had your chance, and _you wasted it_."

Kingdom Hearts began to float upwards until it was hanging in the sky above them, while also being enshrouded by darkness until it had changed color from a bright, golden yellow to a cancerous shade of purple.

Meter clutched the χ-blade with both hands and gathered dark energy into its blade before aiming it straight for the prone Nick. "And now... you _die_."

A large beam of dark energy erupted from the tip of the χ-blade and thundered for Nick, who quickly raised the Kingdom Key to defend himself.

Weakened as he was from Meter's super attack, Nick couldn't hold back the dark beam for long, and it eventually broke through his guard and slammed into his body, causing him to black out almost immediately.

When he regained some semblance of consciousness again, Nick found himself in a completely black void, his body floating and refusing to respond to his mental commands.

_So... is that it?_ Nick thought, noticing that even his own thoughts were growing quieter by the second, and his body was fading away into the blackness of the void. _After all I've fought for... this is where it ends?_

Soon, Nick couldn't even hear his own thoughts any longer, and decided to just let go and fade into the darkness.

But something had other plans.

A small ball of light floated down from somewhere and touched Nick's chest, close to his heart.

And his body became visible again, surrounded by light.

Incredibly confused now, Nick looked around for whatever had kept him from fading away...

...and for the second time that day, couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Hundreds and hundreds of pink, glowing hearts were encircling him, forming a sort-of shield to protect him from the darkness of the void.

And, to Nick's utter surprise, he recognized every single one of them.

The hearts began to enclose on Nick, but instead of feeling suffocated, he felt an immense warmth spreading through his body.

All Nick could do was smile.

"Thank you... _everyone_," Nick stated. "I love you all."

Eventually, Nick's vision brightened.

Meter grinned victoriously as she continued to unleash her darkness, her beam attack continuing to fire and cover Nick's body in a cocoon of darkness.

Better safe than sorry, right?

"He threw his life away for nothing," Meter proclaimed. "But I can't say I feel sorry for him. After all, he showed _me_ no mercy. ...well, I guess I can at least admit that he was a spectacular opponent. But simply a hindrance, and nothing more."

Just then, a small sparkle escaped from the cocoon of darkness.

"W-what?" Meter gasped.

Light began to creep out of the dark cocoon, and Meter pushed another surge of darkness into the cocoon, not wanting Nick to break out.

Eventually, it seemed like that strange light had been submerged...

...until it began to shine brilliantly, light beams piercing through and shattering the cocoon. Meter was forced back, her beam dissipating instantly.

"_What?!"_ Meter screamed as Nick began to float higher and higher into the air, surrounded by a spherical shield of hearts.

"You will not have the satisfaction!" Meter shouted, firing another beam of darkness, but it harmlessly bounced off of the heart barrier.

Nick opened his eyes, adopting an expression of sheer determination.

The hearts surrounding him suddenly gained physical form, revealing themselves to be phantom images of every single ally and friend he'd made across his many adventures.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Penny from the World of Remnant.

Kyoma and Mira from Tower 47.

Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Naoto, Teddie, and Nanako from the Midnight Channel.

Emily, Kelsey, Lily, April, Chloe, and Candy from Rainbow Hills.

Shantae, Uncle Mimic, and the Mayor from Scuttle Town.

Akame, Leone, Tatsumi, Mine, Najenda, Lubbock, and Sheele from the Imperial Capital.

Squigly and Leviathan, Filia and Samson, and Cerebella and Vice Versa from the Canopy Kingdom.

Izetta and Fine from the Principality of Eylstadt.

Kei, Yumi, and Aunt Aki, and even Doctor Tomoki from the Pipo Storybook.

Neptune, Nepgear, Noire, Uni, Blanc, Rom, Ram, Vert, Peashy, Plutia, and Histoire from Gamindustri.

Kirito, Asuna, Yui, and Yuuki from ALfheim Online.

Kana, Mossan, Pets, Hijiri, and Haruko from the Alternative Storybook.

Mei, Tracer, and Winston from Watchpoint Antarctica.

Tatsumaki from Hero Association City Z.

Tiki, Chrom, Robin, and all of the Shepherds from Ylisstol and the Mila Tree.

Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Vita, Signum, Shamal, and Zafira from the Time-Space Administration Bureau.

Kat, Syd, Raven, and Dusty from Hekseville.

Remilia Scarlet, Flandre Scarlet, Marisa Kirisame, Patchouli Knowledge, Hong Meiling, Suika Ibuki, and Koakuma from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, and Sissy from Lyoko.

Every single Pretty Cure that they had met in The Blue Sky Kingdom.

Asta, Finral, Gauche, Yami, Vanessa, Noelle, Charmy, Grey, Magna, and Luck from the Clover Kingdom.

Hikaru, Lala, Elena, Madoka, and Yuni from Mihoshi Town.

Misako and Kyoko from River City.

Reeves, Angela, Trigger, Spike, and Cleric from Ruined Earth.

Sakura and Tomoyo from Tomoeda.

Even all of Nick's other summoned allies, Emi, Nowi, Tiki, Ochako, Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Makoto, Pretty Sammy, Tohru, Yuna, Sailor Moon, and Ami.

Even Asuka, Yumi, Hiro, Zero Two, and Ryuko, the "off-worlders" ripped from their worlds by Meter's dark designs.

Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin from Heatherfield.

Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, Mira, Ava, Invi, Aced, Ira, Gula, Ephemer, Skuld and Strelitzia from the age of fairy tales.

His best friends Meiling and Haruka.

His sister Marie.

His future daughter Lily.

Topping it off was Sora, Donald and Goofy, the heroes from the other dimension.

Meter floated backwards, and as he gazed at the allies surrounding Nick, she felt something she hadn't for a very long time.

_Fear._

"I gave you a chance, Meter," Nick proclaimed. "I believe that _everyone _deserves a second chance. But you _wasted_ yours."

Everyone surrounding Nick began to shine brightly, emitting a light so powerful that it cleared the darkness shrouding Kingdom Hearts and returned it to its golden yellow form.

"My friends are my power, Meter," Nick stated. "And here's what that power can do! _Everyone, let's get her!_"

Responding to Nick's call, everyone rushed forward, streaks of light trailing behind them as they each attacked Meter in their own way, the Dark Mother unable to fight back in the slightest.

With each ally that attacked Meter, Nick's keyblade glowed brighter and brighter.

Finally, when everyone had attacked and only Nick was left, he raised the Kingdom Key skyward, his glowing keyblade aimed right for Meter.

Meter tried once again to hit Nick with a beam of darkness, but Nick countered with a gigantic beam of light that pierced through Meter's beam and struck her in the chest, sending her reeling and eventually falling back onto the magic circle platform.

Nick floated down to land himself, his keyblade still glowing.

"Do you understand now?" Nick asked. "Friendship is a precious power. Friendship is a treasure. Something _you_ cast away when you lost yourself."

"No... friendship... is meaningless," Meter coughed, trying to stay on her feet even if she knew, deep down, that she was done for. "Bonds only tie you down. When those bonds are shattered... the pain is deeper than any physical wound. And sometimes... those bonds cannot be re-forged..."

"Shows what you know," Nick replied. "Someone I look up to said something very special to me once. 'Whatever is lost can be found again.' Even if bonds can be severed, they can be brought back together, and that only makes them stronger. I don't know why you cast away your bonds just for pursuit of the ultimate power, but you clearly lost yourself in the process."

"What good is love... if it only brings you pain in the end?" Meter gasped.

"Just give it up, Meter," Nick proclaimed. "_You've lost._"

"No, look... look. You are too late."

Nick glanced behind him and saw Kingdom Hearts floating above them, hanging over the night sky that was all that seemingly remained of Candracar. "What do you mean? What's going to happen?" Nick challenged.

"A... purge," Meter coughed, balancing herself on the χ-blade. "The World... shall be returned whence it all began. The World began in darkness. And from that darkness came light. From the light came the people, and the people had hearts. Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more darkness. And that darkness spread across the World like a plague. The light, the symbol of the World's hope, was devoured by darkness. Leaving nothing but ruin... an utter failure. But... the first light... the light of Kingdom Hearts... it can give us a new start. An empty World, pure and bright..."

"But it's not _your_ decision to make," Nick retorted.

"Then... whose decision _is _it?" Meter replied. "The World needs someone... who can stand up and rule. Someone strong... to stop the weak-hearted and weak-willed from corrupting the World with their never-ending darkness. It needs someone... to dictate their destiny."

Nick just stared Meter down. "If so... then you're not that person, Meter," Nick proclaimed. "A _real_ leader, a _true_ ruler, understands that the only destiny they can control is _their own_. If you try to dictate someone else's destiny, then you're just using them as your puppets, as disposable _tools_ to further your own selfish aims. Despite what you might think, not everything in existence is pre-ordained."

Meter's eyes widened as she remembered a conversation she'd had with Freya a long, long time ago.

"_But... what about our own destiny, Freya? What if everything has been pre-ordained for us?"_

"_So what, Meter? A true leader knows that just because something has been pre-ordained doesn't mean it can't be changed. Only you are in charge of your own destiny."_

"_That's... all I really want, honestly, to control my own destiny."_

"_We all do, Meter. We all do."_

As Meter tried to stand up straight, only to slump to her knees again, she caught a reflection of herself in the χ-blade, and for the briefest of moments, she saw herself as she had so long ago, before her pursuit of the ultimate answers.

"W-what... what is it about you... that reminds me of... better days?" Meter gasped.

"Wish I could tell you," Nick replied, letting the Kingdom Key vanish for the moment. "I'm just your average, run of the mill keyblade wielder. I never considered myself special just because I was gifted with this amazing power. That's the big difference between you and me, Meter. You let the allure of unbound power erode your sense of reason. You let it all go to your head after _promising_ to your fellow queens, your _best friends_, mind you, that you would never fall to the darkness. Did you ever even think about how they felt, being betrayed like that?"

Meter gasped in shock. Now that she had an opportunity to think about it, she had never once considered how her fellow queens would have thought of her dogged pursuit of the χ-blade.

"I've only ever used my power to help other people," Nick proclaimed. "You used your power to oppress and conquer just because you believed it was your right to wield the χ-blade and rule over everything. But it's like I said, Meter, you don't get to make that decision. _No one does._"

Suddenly, Nick's heart began glowing again, and to his surprise, phantom images of Freya, Amber, and Rose appeared in front of him.

"Come on, Meter, it's time to end this pointless fracas," Amber stated.

"No," Meter gasped, standing up and brandishing the χ-blade. "I... I can do this."

"It's over, Meter," Freya proclaimed. "You don't need to push yourself any longer. Just give it up and come back to us."

"Yeah, come back and we can do all those cool things you promised me we'd do," Rose continued. "I've got a serious craving for that new sea-salt ice cream."

Meter glanced at her fellow queens before letting a tear fall from her eye, much to her surprise.

As she reached up to catch that wayward tear, Meter smiled, finally accepting her defeat. Summoning all of her remaining strength, Meter walked up to Nick and handed the χ-blade off to him.

"Very well done," Meter admitted. "Maybe... in another time... we could have been friends."

"I'd like to think that, too, Meter," Nick answered.

And with that, Meter had spoken her last, her body slowly fading as the other queens joined her in a group hug.

Finally, all four Elemental Queens dissolved into light, their souls finally at peace.

Nick looked down at the χ-blade in his hands, honestly surprised to find that he was now wielding what was considered the most powerful weapon in all of existence.

"It honestly feels like I could do anything with this," Nick quipped. "But that wouldn't be right. As long as my friends' hearts are being used to make this thing, then I can't let it exist in this or any world. I don't think the world is ready for the χ-blade yet."

Nick glanced upwards, towards Kingdom Hearts. "But first... there's one thing I _gotta_ use this for," Nick stated. "Well, Kingdom Hearts, time to go back to sleep. Hopefully no one will ever disturb you again."

Nick raised the χ-blade towards Kingdom Hearts and channeled its power, eventually firing a large beam of multi-colored light from the tip of its blade. The beam flew into the sky and absorbed itself into Kingdom Hearts, and it began to shine with an impossibly bright light as the palace of Candracar reformed itself around Nick within seconds.

After only a minute, Candracar had been completely reconstructed as if it had never been damaged at all. The barrier surrounding the Congregation Hall finally lifted, allowing Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, and Mira to rush in and assess the situation.

"Holy _crap_, Nick, what just happened?!" Mallory exclaimed. "Did you beat Meter or what?!"

Nick just lifted the χ-blade up, causing everyone in the Council to gasp in supreme shock.

"Yeah, I won," Nick answered. "I guess we came to _some_ sort of understanding, because she gave me the χ-blade before she passed on."

"And... if I may ask, what do you intend to do with it, young one?" one of the council members asked, justifiably apprehensive.

"I plan to destroy it," Nick replied. "My friends' hearts are still trapped in there, after all. What kind of friend would I be if I just left them there?"

That said, Nick slowly flicked his hand upwards so that the χ-blade floated to just above him. Summoning the Kingdom Key to his hands, Nick raised it above his head.

Just then, Justin, Mallory, Katelyn, and Mira all placed their hands on his shoulders, channeling their own power into him.

Kingdom Key's blade was covered by a great light that extended into what amounted to a large lightsaber, and Nick let out one last battle cry before bringing his empowered keyblade down, the laser sword slicing through the χ-blade effortlessly. The χ-blade chipped slightly before exploding brilliantly into glass shards that quickly faded away, leaving behind only the thirteen dark hearts and the seven light hearts that had been used to forge it.

The thirteen dark hearts quickly disappeared, either passing away peacefully in the case of the queens or vanishing completely.

The seven light hearts floated down to the floor and, after a brief blinding flash, reformed into the people they'd been stolen from.

"Ow, my head..." Cornelia groaned, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs.

"Ugh... why do I feel like I had a bad night of binge drinking?" Irma groaned. "I've never touched that crap in my life, nor do I plan to!"

"It almost feels like we were having the same nightmare, weren't we?" Taranee asked. "Just being trapped in this endless void of darkness, unable to do anything or call for help..."

"Oof, that is _terrifyingly _accurate," Will sighed. "At least it's over now, right?"

"Wait, hold on, I'm confused," Hay Lin asked. "If we were trapped, who got us out? Because the last thing I remember was that we were about to fight Meter, and then... I think we got wrecked..."

"Guess that means that Nick was able to take Meter out after all," Cornelia giggled. Nick just spun the Kingdom Key in response. "Sorry we couldn't be more help. Meter just kinda sucker-punched us."

"Villains are good at that," Nick replied, walking up to give Cornelia a big hug while secretly glancing down at his pocket, which still held the ring he intended to give her sooner or later. He had thankfully attained the Hale family's blessing on their last trip to Heatherfield before the battle with Meter, he just needed to find the perfect time to spring the actual question.

"Um... wait. If you're all back, where did...?" Nick asked, only to have his question cut off when Meiling threw herself towards Nick and Cornelia, sending all three sprawling to the ground. "Well... that answers _that_ question..."

"I tried to stop her," Haruka laughed. "I really did."

"Does she do that a lot nowadays?" Marie wondered.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Nick sighed.

"I'm just so happy you're okay, Nick!" Meiling exclaimed. "I had no idea what happened while we were gone!"

"But I take it you won?" Haruka asked.

"Yup," Nick responded. "The Dark Mother Meter has officially bit the dust."

"Very, _very_ well done, my Guardians."

Hay Lin was the first to perk up at the familiar voice, turning around to see her deceased grandmother Yan Lin sitting in Himerish's throne, wielding the Master Keeper keyblade that Himerish had once wielded.

"Grandma?" Hay Lin asked. "Why are you sitting where the Oracle usually does?"

"Simple, my dear," Yan Lin answered. "I am officially the new Oracle of Candracar."

"Hold on, Meter said something about this before our fight," Nick quipped. "I asked her if she'd done anything to Himerish, but she said that he just... well, he _quit_, apparently."

"Well... Himerish felt horrible about all of this," Yan Lin explained. "He believes now that he sent you all to your deaths without knowing how far Meter would go to achieve her goals, and that it was only a miracle that you were all able to come back."

"But it wasn't _his_ fault," Meiling countered. "There was no way in _hell_ that he could have known Meter was going to pull a stunt like that!"

"Regardless of where the blame actually falls, Himerish believed that he was no longer worthy of the position of Oracle and, as his most trusted advisor, passed the position on to me," Yan Lin continued. "So I guess it falls to me to congratulate you all on a job well done. Once again, you have triumphed over an evil that treads beyond all imagination, and we could not be prouder of you all."

"We're just doing what we were given keyblades for, Miss..." Mira started. "...um... should we call you 'Your Highness', since you're the Oracle now?"

"That's _really_ your first question, Mira?" Katelyn teased.

"I-I just didn't want to offend her!" Mira squeaked.

The entire group shared a good laugh at that one.

As Nick glanced at Cornelia, he felt his entire face light up at the mere sight of her laughing. _My god, I really love this girl, don't I?_ Nick thought, instinctively reaching for the ring, only to stop short.

But then, he made his decision.

_To heck with it. Better to do it now than wait and possibly have something else that'll separate us,_ Nick thought. _Well... here goes something._

"Will we ever see Himerish again?" Cornelia asked.

"Sometime down the road," Yan Lin admitted. "Not even I know when, but rest assured, Guardians, if ever you need him, he will find you."

"Oh, good, that's a load off my toad," Irma quipped.

"All right, everyone, what do you say we head back to Heatherfield?" Will proclaimed. "Basiliade has shorter days than this has been."

"Hey, speaking of which, has anyone heard from Orube lately?" Hay Lin asked.

"Um, if I could cut in to this interesting conversation..." Nick quipped. "Cornelia, can I talk to you for a second?"

Cornelia nodded and walked over to Nick, completely ignorant of the silent gasps from the other Guardians, who had just figured out Nick's plan thanks to his body language and his nervous expression.

Meiling just warned them to stay quiet and let things play out.

**("Don't Think Twice" by Utada Hikaru plays)**

"What's up, Nick?" Cornelia asked.

"Well... I kinda want you to listen to everything I've gotta say before you answer, and _really_ think it over, because... it's kinda super important," Nick answered.

Cornelia was initially confused, but when she saw Nick reach into his pocket, a few tears fell as her eyes widened, indicating she realized it, too.

Nick had produced a ring set with a glittering green jewel shaped like a heart.

"Remember three years ago, Cornelia?" Nick asked. The Guardian of Earth just nodded, trying to hold back her tears. "Back in the days when all I could do was admire you from afar while you had a bad breakup with someone who didn't even consider his girlfriend's feelings? During my first journey, I kept debating on whether or not to tell you how I felt if I ever found you again. But when we finally rescued you from the Blue Sky Kingdom, I decided to just throw caution to the wind and go for it, because I never thought I'd get another chance."

Nick smiled at the memories. "Now I'm glad I took that chance, because these three years with you have been _magical_, for lack of a better term to say. And... to be honest, I was planning _this_ for a while, considering even I wasn't sure how our battle with Meter was going to play out. And since we all saw what went wrong, I figured that once it was all over, I'd see if you wanted to take that next step with me."

Nick did the traditional thing and bent down on one knee, even though he knew his adventures and life had been anything _but_ traditional.

"So... I guess this is the part where I ask you the biggest question I've ever asked anyone, huh?" Nick teased. "Well, here goes. Cornelia Hale, Guardian of Earth, girl of my dreams... will you marry me?"

Complete silence reigned for a few seconds as Cornelia let everything sink in. Not even the Council spoke, not wanting to intrude on the moment.

After those few seconds passed, Cornelia took a step closer to Nick, her hands barely hiding her smile.

"Nick..." Cornelia gasped. "After everything we've been through together, do you really think my answer would be anything else?"

"Can I assume that means...?" Nick asked.

Cornelia responded by throwing her arms around Nick and pulling him close.

"Of course it means yes, Nick."

At last, everyone else erupted in applause as Nick slid the ring onto Cornelia's finger, then pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"Like I said, this always seems to keep happening in Candracar, right?" Irma teased. "Should we decorate it for Valentine's Day or something?"

"Irma, not now," Mallory shot back. "Let them have their moment."

After separating, Nick and Cornelia walked back to the rest of the group, who all began excitedly chattering about what had just happened.

_Well... that's my story, guys. Quite the rollercoaster trip, huh?_

"Well, come on, guys, we gotta start making plans!" Meiling giggled.

"Plans? For _what_?" Haruka responded.

"The wedding, duh!" Meiling exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, they _literally just _got engaged like, a minute ago!" Justin proclaimed. "And I thought they'd wait _at least_ a year until they turn eighteen to even _start_ planning that?!"

"Doesn't mean we can't start planning!" Meiling responded. "I'm kinda a fan of the long game."

"Of course you are," Hay Lin sighed.

_Who would have ever thought that I'd be dragged into an adventure that's literally bigger than me? It's like I said to Meter, as far as I'm concerned at least, I'm just your average, run of the mill teenager, even if my friends are very magical._

Cornelia couldn't help but giggle at her friends' antics. "Wait, Meiling, are you okay with this?" Cornelia asked. "I know how much you love him, too."

"Hey, I'm just happy my best buddy ever's happy," Meiling admitted. "After all, I'm the one who pushed him into confessing to you, because I could see how in love with you he was."

To Cornelia's surprise, Meiling leaped over to hug the Earth Guardian tightly. "I never considered us rivals for Nick's heart, to be honest," Meiling stated. "I'm not the type to do something like that."

Meiling stood on her tiptoes to kiss Cornelia on the cheek. "Make sure you two treat each other right, okay?" Meiling proclaimed. "You two were meant for each other."

_When I first received my keyblade three years ago, I had no clue the kind of turn my life would take. Being thrust into so many different worlds that I never imagined existed, meeting so many amazing friends and allies, and using my keyblade to fight the evils of our time..._

"Is this weird to anyone else?" Katelyn asked. "So many girls here seem to have _something_ for Nick..."

"Hey, technically _I _laid first claim to Nick's heart!" Mira exclaimed, then immediately clamping her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Wait, Mira, _you_ had a crush on me back then?" Nick asked. This was news to him.

Mira took a few steps back, as if she'd just blurted out some forbidden knowledge. "Oh, god, why'd I say that?!" Mira shrieked, dashing off towards the hallway.

"Hey, Mira, get back here!" Mallory shouted. She _knew_ this was going to happen.

_And, well, as long as the keyblade stays with me, I'm gonna have to keep fighting. I don't know if my adventures will ever end. But... you wanna know something? I honestly wouldn't have it any other way._

"Is she gonna be okay?" Irma asked.

"Yeah, she had a crush on Nick back in the age of fairy tales, even though Nick seemed more interested in Strelitzia," Katelyn explained. "Though none of those chances got off the ground once everything went to hell in a handbasket."

"And she never told him?" Haruka wondered.

"It was kinda funny, honestly," Justin admitted.

_I appreciate being given the power to help people. That's all I've ever wanted out of my ability to wield the keyblade._

Nick and Cornelia glanced at each other, before smiling and leaning in for another kiss.

_That's the end of my story... for now, at least. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I'll be ready for it. After all, it's __**my**__ future. ...well, now it's __**ours**__._

* * *

**("Datte Atashi no Hero" by LiSA plays)**

Ruby and Weiss glanced at each other occasionally while traversing the mine in pursuit of that stubborn Geist, while chuckling at Yang's stuttering compliment of Blake's new hairstyle.

Weiss looked glumly at the old symbols of the Schnee Dust Company, still feeling bad about what their family's treatment of Faunus had gotten them.

However, Blake actually put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, silently showing that she didn't blame Weiss for any of that.

Ruby excitedly chattered about the cute development until they all noticed their target rapidly fleeing down the nearby tunnel.

Team RWBY drew their newly-upgraded weapons and set out to find the Geist.

* * *

Langris raised his hand to cast a spell that would no doubt end Finral's life, only to suddenly find three of the Black Bulls surrounding him with their weapons pointed dangerously close to his neck.

Even Charmy had become uncharacteristically serious, summoning her sheep to attack if need be.

Asta, Magna, and Luck warned Langris that if he even took one more step, they'd all kill him for what he'd done.

Noelle looked on shock, wondering why Langris was acting so savage and unsure if it was the same thing that had turned Solid against her, that Langris' heart may have been stained by darkness.

Remembering how Nick and his friends had come to her defense, Noelle prepared her own magic, ready to intervene if she had to.

* * *

Cure Star pointed to the sky, motioning for her fellow Cures to follow.

As Cure Cosmo wondered why Cure Star was dragging them halfway across the city, especially towards Lala's rocket, she suddenly noticed the same thing.

Cure Milky couldn't help but smile as she watched three shooting stars streak through the sky above them, one bright pink, one light blue, and one golden yellow.

Once again, somewhere in a far-off world, a brand new team of Pretty Cures had just been born.

Hoping they'd get to meet them someday, the Star Twinkle Pretty Cures rushed to the nearby hillside so they could watch the stars soar through the sky.

* * *

Misako and Kyoko launched into a double flying kick that sent Sabuko smashing through the window and unfortunately taking them with her.

After a loud crash landing, Misako picked herself up and plucked Kyoko from the rubble like a carrot, only to realize they'd crashed into a bath house.

And Kunio and Riki were staring at them.

Naturally, the girls were excited to finally find their boyfriends...

...until they started saying weird things like not actually knowing who they were and then mentioning Hasebe and Mami.

Fed up with this nonsense, Misako and Kyoko launched Kunio and Riki into the sky with a double uppercut attack.

* * *

Haruka gazed out towards the horizon as Flyer continued his flight, escorting her back to Mars. After all, she needed to clear the air with Kanato about why she'd disappeared for so long.

However, just as they were about to break through Mars' atmosphere, a large bird-like Heartless appeared just to the right of Flyer.

Guess some things never changed.

Haruka raced out of the control room to the top deck of flyer, Divine Rose already in her hands.

As the Raging Vulture roared in her face, Haruka fired a Thunder spell into its mouth, driving it back and away from the ship.

Readying herself for a battle, Haruka smiled at the thought that she was acting a lot like Nick right now, taking any challenge head-on and damn the consequences.

Haruka couldn't help but say a silent thanks to her friend as she leaped to face off with the Raging Vulture.

* * *

Meiling flipped through the photo album that Sakura was showing her, a book filled with events that Meiling had missed out on since losing her world initially.

With a laugh, Meiling stated that she seemed a lot like her and her friends, always finding their way into trouble no matter how they fought it off.

As Sakura explained the strange figure from her dreams, Meiling couldn't help but hug Sakura, happy to finally have her old friends back again.

When they met up with Tomoyo down the street, Meiling suddenly broke the hug to summon Counterpoint and unleash a powerful Firaga spell to stall the giant Heartless that had been charging for them.

As the Arch Behemoth stomped down the street, Sakura summoned her Dream Wand as Meiling raised her keyblade, and the two friends charged bravely into battle.

* * *

"Holy _crap_, it's almost like we became overnight celebrities just because we announced our engagement," Nick quipped as school finally let out for the day. Many students had been hounding him and Cornelia practically the entire school day when they'd told their other friends of their engagement.

"Well, I am still pretty popular here," Cornelia replied. "I guess I should have figured the news would spread like wildfire."

"Speaking of popular, have you noticed that Uriah hasn't been bothering us lately?" Nick stated. "For like, at _least_ the past year?"

"Maybe because he knows we have keyblades now," Cornelia answered. "After all, you had to save him from the Heartless on your last adventure, right?"

"Yeah, him and the Grump Twins," Nick replied.

"Oh, yeah, I had to stop them from plastering 'the announcement' all over the school paper today," Cornelia laughed.

"Those two will do literally anything for a story, won't they?" Nick groaned.

As the couple headed for their homes, Nick suddenly had a thought.

"Say, Cornelia?"

"What's up?"

Nick moved a little closer to Cornelia. "I know it may seem a little too early to ask this... but... if we were ever going to start a family of our own in the future... did you have any ideas for names?"

Cornelia had figured this question was coming, considering their previous adventure had revolved around their future daughter.

So she decided to humor Nick.

"Well... if it was a boy, I'd pick Blake. If it was a girl, I'd go with Lily."

Nick smiled and hugged his future wife. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Nick and Cornelia leaned in for one more kiss before they had to leave for home.

"I love you, Nick."

"I love you, too, Cornelia."

_~W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart III~  
__~The End~_


End file.
